Medievil drama developed out of early religious plays, which had been
made out of the drama of the medieval church..These early dramatic forms still
focused on the religious and moral themes that dominated the Christian
imagination during the Middle Ages.The play Everyman showed the
improvement of the people by seeking salvation.(Charles Darling, 2000)
The morality play presented religious and ethical concerns from the point
of view of the Christian person, whose main concern was to improve his
relationship with god, improve himself by performing good deeds and gaining
salvation for his soul. A morality play is essentially an allegory in dramatic form.
It shares the key features of allegorical prose and verse narratives. It is intended
to be understood on two or more levels and the characters are abstractions with
label names like all the characters in Everyman. These plays come from
medieval sermons, literature, homilies, fables and other works of moral or
spiritual significance. Their purpose was originally to teach people how they
should act to be a good Christian and therefore make a better society but later
became just entertainment.In the fourteenth century, morality plays were mainly
based on the seven deadly sins as in Everyman when he shows Greed by saying
"Money maketh all right that is wronge". In fifteenth century, the plays theme
was usually concerning the conflict between good and evil in an individual began
to be performed in France to improve their society by explaining morals to
people. This type of play soon became popular all over Europe, including
England. The main characters in "Everyman" are God, a Messenger, Death,
Everyman, Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin, Goods, Knowledge, Beauty, Strength,
and Good Deeds. Everyman only cares about worldly pleasures as stated in
Everyman when Death says "His mind is on fle
...