EVERYMAN

Excerpted from textbook

COMPONENTS

Morality Play – medieval drama; Christian struggle

between good and evil (going to heaven or hell);

teaches a moral lesson (morals = beliefs, values,

ethics [what’s right and wrong])

Naïve Allegory – characters, objects, places and

actions, etc. are personifications of abstractions. • Caricature – exaggerations of a quality

PERSONIFICATION

Everyman = every person

Death = end of life

THEY ARE THE CHARACTERS, BUT IDEAS

SIMULTANEOUSLY = PERSONIFICATION

MESSENGER

Breaks down 4th wall and addresses the audience

directly

Avoid Seven Deadly Sins in order to go to heaven

Everyman has been called to a reckoning

“Look well, and take good heed to the ending,/Be

you never so gay.” (10-11) – meaning?

GOD

Angered by the sins of man

Why?

Lines 25-52

Meaning? – God’s angry due to?

How did God originally plan for man’s end? (lines

53-54)

DEATH V. EVERYMAN

Outline the exception to the rule (or the “saving

grace”) that Death seeks in Everyman (lines 74-79):

Death finds Everyman in order to review his life; to

weigh the balance of good deeds (Almsdeeds) v. sin

Everyman doesn’t recognize Death and doesn’t

know why he has come; Upon realization, Everyman

tries to make a deal…

DEATH V. EVERYMAN

Everyman – come back again later (I’ll give you $,

all I have)• Everyman: Can I come back at the end of the

journey? • Death: NO!

Everyman: “I would to God I had never be geet!/To

my soul a full great profit it had be./ For now I fear

pains huge and great.” (189-191)

…

Everyman goes on his journey and returns to Death

at a grave (his grave) with all of the qualities of his

life with him.

BEAUTY

Everyman: “In this world live no more we shall,/

But in heaven before the highest Lord of all.” (797-

799)

Beauty – NO!

STRENGTH

Everyman: “Stenght, you to displease I am to

blame,/ Yet promise is debt, this ye well wot.” (820-

821)

Strength– NO!

DISCRETION

“Everyman, I will after Strength be gone:/ As for

me, I will leave you alone.” (831-832)

Discretion– NO!

FIVE - WITS

Everyman: “Alas, then may I wail and weep, / For I

took you for my best friend.” (846-848)

Five – Wits – NO!

GOOD DEEDS AND KNOWLEDGE

Why does Knowledge stay so long? (862-863)

Why does Good Deeds stay? (852-854)

PURPOSE

Angel?

Doctor?

Theme = “And he that hath his account whole and

sound,/