Everyman is the best surviving example of the type of Medieval drama known as the morality play.

Moralities evolved side by side with themystery plays, although they were composed individually and not in cycles. The moralities employed allegory to dramatize the moral struggle Christianity envisions universal in every individual. Everyman, a short play of some 900 lines, portrays a complacent Everyman who is informed by Death of his approaching end. The play shows the hero's progression from despair and fear of death to a "Christian resignation that is the prelude to redemption."1 First, Everyman is deserted by his false friends: his casual companions, his kin, and his wealth. He falls back on his Good Deeds, his Strength, his Beauty, his Intelligence, and his Knowledge. These assist him in making his Book of Accounts, but at the end, when he must go to the grave, all desert him save his Good Deeds alone. The play makes its grim point that we can take with us from this world nothing that we have received, only what we have given. The play was written near the end of the fifteenth century. It is probably a translation from a Flemish play, Elckerlijk (or Elckerlyc) first printed in 1495, although there is a possibility that Everyman is the original, the Flemish play the translation. There are four surviving versions ofEveryman, two of them fragmentary. As compared with the usual type of Mystery plays the Moralities had for the writers this advantage, that they allowed some independence in the invention of the story; and how powerful they might be made in the hands of a really gifted author has been finely demonstrated in our own time by the stage-revival of the best of them, 'Everyman' (which is probably a translation from a Dutch original). In most cases, however, the spirit of medieval allegory proved fatal, the genuinely abstract characters are mostly shadowy and unreal, and the speeches of the Virtues are extreme examples of intolerable sanctimonious declamation. Against this tendency, on the other hand, the persistent instinct for realism provided a partial antidote; the Vices are often very lifelike rascals, abstract only in name. In these cases the whole plays become vivid studies in contemporary low life, largely human and interesting except for their prolixity and the coarseness which they inherited from the Mysteries and multiplied on their own account. During the Reformation period, in the early sixteenth century, the character of the Moralities, more strictly so called, underwent something of a change, and they weresometimes made the vehicle for religious argument, especially by Protestants.
allegory, in literature, symbolic story that serves as a disguised representation for meanings other than those indicated on the surface. The characters in an allegory often have no individual personality, but are embodiments of moral qualities and other abstractions. The allegory is closely related to the parable, fable, and metaphor, differing from them largely in intricacy and length. A great variety of literary forms have been used for allegories. The medieval morality play Everyman, personifying such abstractions as Fellowship and Good Deeds, recounts the death journey of Everyman. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, a prose narrative, is an allegory of man's spiritual salvation. Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene, besides being a chivalric romance, is a commentary on morals and manners in 16th-century England as well as a national epic. Although allegory is still used by some authors, its popularity as a literary form has declined in favor of a more personal form of symbolic expression. (See C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (1936); P. de Man, Allegories of Reading (1979); M. Quilligan, The Language of Allegory (1979).

a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.

The most famous, however, among all these moralities is Every-man, whose date of composition cannot be defined precisely; we only know that the earliest printed editions, both undated, must belong to the period between 1509 and 1530; but so early as 1495 a Dutch translation was printed. 4 Everyman treats, in allegorical style, of the hour of death, and thus deals with a sphere of ideas which, in the devotional literature of the later Middle Ages, is one of the main subjects; the most famous book of that sort, Ars moriendi, was published in an English translation by Caxton in 1491. The poet endeavoured to give dramatic animation to his subject by making use of a parable which is told in the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat: how a man had three friends, of whom one only declared himself ready to accompany him before the throne of the judge before whom he is summoned. This friend symbolises a mans good deeds, which alone accompany him after death before the throne of God and interpose their prayers for him. The series of sceneshow, first, Death, as Gods summoner, bids man come; how, then, Fellowship, Kindred and others, when asked to bear him company, by empty phrases talk themselves out of the affairexercises its impressive power even to-day, not only in the reading but also on the stage. Only Good-deeds, who lies on the ground fettered by Every-mans sins, declares herself ready to assist him. How Every-man is directed by Good-deeds to Knowledge and Confession, and, finally, leaves the world well prepared, is shown forth in the last part of the play, where the Catholic point of view is insisted on with much unction and force. The comic element disappears almost entirely. ( The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (190721). Volume V. The Drama to 1642, Part One.)

Characters Everyman: Typical human being who has neglected his spiritual life but repents his sins in time to be saved. God: Just but merciful Supreme Being. Death: Messenger commanded by God to summon Everyman. Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin, Material Goods: Earthly acquaintances of Everyman who abandon him in his time of need. Good Deeds: The only friend willing to accompany Everyman to the afterlife. Knowledge: Character that tells Everyman what he must do to obtain salvation. Confession: Character representing the sacrament of penance. Everyman confesses his sins to this character. Discretion, Strength, Everyman's Five Wits, Beauty: Earthly acquaintances of Everyman who abandon him in his time of need. Angel: Creature that welcomes Everyman to the celestial realm. Doctor: Scholar who delivers words of warning at the end of the play.

Themes Live for Tomorrow .......Live for tomorrowthat is, life after deathby leading a holy and virtuous earthly life that includes doing good works. In the opening lines of the play, Death states this theme when he says, "Man, in the beginning, / Look well, and take good heed to the ending." Everyman learns to "take good heed" before it is too late. He confesses and repents his sins and thus earns paradise on the strength of his contrition and the good works that he has performed . The Deceptive Appearance of Sin .......Man in his youth perceives sin as beautiful, like a spring flower, as Death says in the opening lines: Ye think sin in the beginning full sweet, Which in the end causeth thy soul to weep, When the body lieth in clay. But this flower fades and dies in the autumn and winter of life. Death warns the audience to take heed of this truth. Material vs Spiritual Gain .......A man may gain a world of riches, but they are as nothing if he suffers the loss of his soul. God enunciates this theme near the beginning of the play: I perceive here in my majesty, How that all the creatures be to me unkind, Living without dread in worldly prosperity: Of ghostly sight the people be so blind, Drowned in sin, they know me not for their God; In worldly riches is all their mind. . . . Everyman discovers the truth of the adage You cant take it with you. It, of course, is his store of material goods, a burden that encumbers his spirituality. Good Deeds tells him that he should have lightened this burden by giving possessions to the poor. God's Mercy .......Humans snub Gods mercy. Caught up with the pleasures of life and the pursuit of material possessions, people neglect to petition the Lord to receive forgiveness for their sins, which He is every ready to bestow. God calls attention to this human fault near the beginning of the play: I proferred the people great multitude of mercy, And few there be that asketh it heartily. They be so encumbered with worldly riches. Final Judgment

.......No human being can escape final judgment. God tells Death that the day will come when every person must undertake a final journey and give an accounting of his life before the Lord. No man can escape this task; every person will face a day of reckoning. .

Plot Summary: After being summoned by Death to the court of his lord to make an accounting for the life which was lent him, Everyman seeks counsel and companionship for the dangerous journey. Many promise to accompany him, but few make good on that promise. Eventually, he learns to judge correctly what really matters to the health of the soul facing death, though not without a fair amount of grief that (paradoxically) usually produces laughter from audiences. The topic of "man summoned by death" was commonplace during the fifteenth century. Frequent warfare, bubonic and pneumonic plague, starvation, and crime made death a frequent and often public experience. Another fifteenth century play on this subject, The Dance of Death, shows Death coming to persons from all walks of life, from emperors and popes to clerks and plowmen. The play's epilogue, delivered by a "Doctor Macabre" (otherwise unidentified) is the etymological source of our adjective "macabre." Plays, poems, and paintings on this theme proliferated from the fifteenth through the sixteenth centuries, and still can be found in modern contemplations of mortality.(Prof Arnie Sanders) Everyman is an example of a Morality Play, an allegorical dramatization of the conflict between good and evil. Morality plays dramatize Christian moral problems. By their very nature, they are didactic. Allegory is used throughout the play: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The names of the characters Sins are bonds that tie Good Deeds to the ground Confession is a river as well as a Holy Man Contrition is a garment Death is a literal hole in the ground

Since Everyman was written at the end of the Middle Ages (1475), it has some remnants of Middle English, for example, "wete" (know); "verily" (truly, really); "weenest" (thinkest); "gramercy" (thanks). Like The Inferno, it reflects the views of the Medieval Church: 1. 2. 3. 4. Life is a struggle between good and evil. Salvation is the central goal of life. Things of this world are fleeting and insignificant. The Church is a necessary guide to salvation. During the Middle Ages, people had to contend with the Goddess Fortune and her Wheel ("The Wheel of Fortune"). Life was like a Ferris wheel with riders both at the top and at the bottom of the wheel. In just a moment, each person's position could change. Whatever position one was in, no matter how successful, catastrophe could strike; one could instantly tumble down Fortune's Wheel. This precarious view of life may explain why death played such a prominent role in the daily lives of the people. At any time, a man might die. The nearness of death was

particularly strong in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries when the black plague affected large areas of Europe. Death appears unexpectedly in Everyman, suggesting that one should always be prepared at anytime to die. Everyman, however, is shocked when Death arrives. He is not prepared for his reckoning with God. In his time of need, he is deserted by his casual companions, his kinsman, and his wealth. He can take none of these things with him to the grave. He can take with him only what he has given: his good deeds. At the moment Death arrives, however, Everyman's Good Deeds is sick and weakly. His sins have rendered her too weak to stand: "Here I lie, cold in the ground./Thy sins hath me sore bound,/That I cannot stir" (ll.486488). He has neglected Good Deeds and instead placed too much emphasis on things such as Fellowship and Goods. Goods is immobilized, unable to stir because of the chests and bags full of gold lying upon and around him: "I lie her in corners, trussed and piled so high,/ And in chests I am locked so fast,/ Also sacked in bags--thou mayst see with thine eye--/ I cannot stir" (ll.394-398). The lesson, of course, is that earthly possessions weigh one down in the quest for salvation. If Everyman had loved Goods moderately and given some to the poor, he would not be weighted down by them now (see lines 429-434).

Over and over again, the point is made that man can take with him from this world nothing that he has received, only what he has given. Once Everyman goes through the various offices of the Church, his Good Deeds can rise and speak for him. She tells Everyman, "Fear not, I will speak for thee" (l. 876). As a redeemed Everyman and his Good Deeds descend into the grave, Angels sing. The Doctor comes on stage to reiterate the moral, a point made over and over again in Medieval literature: "For, after death, amends may no man make" (l. 913). "Thus endeth this moral play of EVERYMAN." Study Questions for EVERYMAN: 1. How is Everyman characterized at the beginning of the play and at the end? 2. How are the personified abstractions characterized? 3. What other uses of allegory appear in the play? 4. What is the significance of the order in which Everyman's friends drop out of the final procession? (Dr. Beth Jensen) THE ALEGORICAL PLOT OF EVERYMAN

Messenger God Death Death demands the account book from Everyman and tells him to prepare for his Pilgrimage

Everyman loses his companions Fellowship Kindred and Cousin Goods Good Deeds (bound to the ground by Everyman's sins, l 486) Everyman's penance Confession Knowledge (or contrition, Knowledge of sin) "Scourge of Penance" (l 605) Everyman's good deeds are liberated (l 619) Knowledge gives Everyman a "garment of sorrow" (l 643) Knowledge advises Everyman to seek out a priest and receive extreme unction (l 706) Digression on the priesthood Everyman's bodily progress toward death: He loses Beauty Strength Discretion Five-Wits Knowledge remains until he sees where Everyman "shall become" (l 863) Everyman and Good Deeds Descend into the Grave Knowledge hears the Angels sing The angel welcomes Everyman and tells him his "reckoning is clear" Doctor recounts the Moral (Dr. Desmet)