Everyman analysis

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Recommended: Art and literature in the middle ages

“I am Death, who no man dreadeth; For every man I arrest, and no man spare, For it is God’s commandment that all to me should be obedient.”

Medieval theatre started in the 550’s. The people of the Byzantine Empire kept Greek and Roman plays alive until the collapse of the empire in 1453. In western Europe, however, Christians abolished theater since they didn’t approve of it. In the 550’s, they were faced with the challenge of explaining biblical events to a largely illiterate audience, since during the time all masses were held in Latin. As a result, Medieval plays started out as liturgical dramas. These were short plays performed in churches, and also, the lines were sung responsively by two groups. There were no actors. The first known liturgical drama was called “Quem Quaeritis”, “Whom do you seek?”. After people, especially members of trade guilds, started to perform plays outside of church in the 1200’s, they were usually performed in the common language. Also, there were no specific buildings for theatre. Therefore, people used whatever available spaces they could find.

Plays in the Middle Ages were emblematic, meaning that all costumes and props were symbolic. For example, an animal mouth symbolized hell and a revolving globe heaven. There were three kinds of plays: mystery plays, miracle plays and morality plays. Mystery plays were about Christ or the Old Testament. Morality plays, also called didactic allegories,told the story of good versus evil, and were usually about a common man’s struggle for salvation. Miracle plays were historical, dramatized lives of Roman Catholic saints. The dramatic techniques of the time included high seriousness...

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...ession, Beauty, Strength, Discretion and Five wits. The play addresses very clearly, how not all things matter in life. What really matters is what’s inside and how you lives your life. “Everything in our lives is fleeting, with the exception of our acts of kindness and charity.”(Wade Bradford)

Altogether, Everyman is a play with a high moral. It is a play that can still teach people something valuable with its themes, ever to this day. The overall message of the play is that relatives and friends (as reliable as they may seem) pale in comparison to the steady companionship of God.

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Works Cited

Cummings, Michael. Everyman: A Morality Play. cummingsstudyguides.com 2005

Bradford, Wade. Everyman - Part Two of Study Guide for "Everyman". plays.about.com. web 20 Dec 2013

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Jokinen, Anniina. “Everyman: An Introduction.” Luminarium. 21 January 2010

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