Act 2

The opening monologue of the second act, describing the passage of three years in terms of a thousand risings of the sun, contrasts with the motif of the moon in the closing scenes of the first act. Each day ends with a moon and begins with a sun. These two constants, marking both the unity and temporality of human life-its phases, its journey across the sky-tie each day to the next, just as the human lives within the play undergo cyclical changes.

Thus the Second Act continues the First Acts emphasis of the continuity and repetition of human life. The actions of the characters, presented in pantomime, are all cyclical - daily or seasonal activities, like fixing breakfast and feeding chickens and stringing beans.