Verlag:
Bloomsbury, London
;
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Death summons a man to the reckoning of his life, and his journey towards judgement makes up the matter of one of the best surviving examples of morality plays. Everyman, the central character of the play, is not a person but a place-holder...
mehr
Death summons a man to the reckoning of his life, and his journey towards judgement makes up the matter of one of the best surviving examples of morality plays. Everyman, the central character of the play, is not a person but a place-holder representing all of mankind. As he converses with Knowledge, Good Deeds, Beauty and Goods, striving to secure a favourable account of his time on earth in order to reach everlasting life, a dramatic allegory is woven about the brevity of life and the necessity of living it well. The play is exceptional in its genre for this narrow focus on the last phase of life, and conveys its message with awe-inspiring seriousness.
Verlag:
Bloomsbury, London
;
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The eponymous character of 'Mankind' is a plain, honest farmer struggling against worldly and spiritual temptation in a morality play that is remarkable for its bawdy and energetic humour. The instructive sermon from the figure of Mercy which opens...
mehr
The eponymous character of 'Mankind' is a plain, honest farmer struggling against worldly and spiritual temptation in a morality play that is remarkable for its bawdy and energetic humour. The instructive sermon from the figure of Mercy which opens the play is soon interrupted by mocking Mischief, the three comedic Vices and the malicious devil Titivillus, who hijack the play and lead the audience through a whirl of lewd jokes, bawdy song and theatrical tricks which compromise the spectators as much as they do the character of Mankind. The competition for Mankind's soul between Mischief and Mercy allows the play to move between riotous exuberance and careful theological discussion, showing by example and instruction the right way to live a Christian life.
Verlag:
Bloomsbury, London
;
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The whole life of a man is staged in 'Mundus et Infans', as Child grows up into Manhood and succumbs to Folly in an exemplary morality play of transgression and redemption. The protagonist's progression through life is deftly delineated: beginning as...
mehr
The whole life of a man is staged in 'Mundus et Infans', as Child grows up into Manhood and succumbs to Folly in an exemplary morality play of transgression and redemption. The protagonist's progression through life is deftly delineated: beginning as 'Infans' - or 'Child' - he is renamed 'Dalliance', then 'Wanton' and then 'Love-Lust-Liking', before he matures into 'Manhood'. Mundus - or 'World' - invests him with a knighthood, but he fails to uphold chivalric values and is led astray from Conscience by Folly, an engaging and mocking villain, into a life of arrogance and debauchery.
