Perception of Death in the Play “Everyman"

1112 Words3 Pages

In the play “everyman” death is depicted as something that is terribly feared as no one seemed ready for it, death is perceived as something that takes one away from the pleasures of this world.

Everyman is a classic play written in the 15th century whose subject is the struggle of the soul. This is a morality play and a good example of transition play linking liturgical drama and the secular drama that came at the end of English medieval period. In the play, death is perceived as tragic and is intensely feared. The protagonist; Everyman, is a person who enjoys the pleasures of life and good company. When he is unexpectedly called by death to account to God for his actions on earth, he is thunderstruck. He is filled with sorrow and self-pity. He pleads with death to give him more time, but death informs him it is impossible and that man cannot escape the reality of death. Faced with this eventuality, Everyman desperately turns to his friends for help. As Scott states, “Everyman’s friends in the play are personifications of his qualities and possessions” (Scott 15). He has friends like Fellowship, good deeds, knowledge, and later in the play he meets Beauty, Strength, Discretion and Five Wits.

Death is depicted as an individual’s affair, in which, neither one’s closest friends or closest blood relatives can give a hand in. Upon receiving the tragic news Everyman first approaches his friend Fellowship. At first he is hesitant to reveal his sorrow to Fellowship for he considers it too tragic a plight. After cajoling and assurances by Fellowship to stand by him in whatever situation, Everyman finally pours out his sorrow to Fellowship. Upon realizing that Everyman has been summoned by death, fellowship turns his back on Everyman ...

... middle of paper ...

...ningham, and Reich 40). In addition, it pays no respect to one’s material status. Death, as depicted, also takes no notice of ones beauty and knowledge. Due to these reasons, death is greatly feared for it is considered a tragedy.

Works Cited

Frohman Charles. Everyman: A Morality Play. Kessinger Publishing Legacy. 2004. Print.

Lawrence S. Cunningham, John J. Reich. Culture and values: a survey of the humanities. USA:Wadsworth Publishing. 2009. PRINT.

Scott lady D. Everyman revived: the common sense of Michael Polanyi. Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1985. Print.

Walker Greg. Medieval drama: an anthology. USA: Wiley-Blackwell. 2000. Print.

Rosenberg J.C. Parallels: The Morality Play Everyman And Selected Tales. UMI DISSERTATION PUBLISHING. 2011. Print.

Anonymous . Everyman And Other Miracle And Morality Plays. New York:Dover Publications. 1995. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis: Forbidding Mourning, Holy Sonnet 10, And Meditation 17

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first and perhaps most important characteristic of Death is that he is a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" (line 9). Notice how "kings" are not the only slavers of Death, but also "desperate men," a characteristic applicable to almost anyone from any social stratum at some point in his or her life. That the slavers of Death may come from all walks of life is central; for by presenting Death as an imposition by any men on any others, the speaker effectively suggests a gruesome connection between everyone: Each and every person's life is in the hands of hundreds of thousands of

    Read More

  • Analyzing Early Mesopotamian Civilization

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cunningham, L., & Reich, J. J. (2010). Culture and values: a survey of the humanities (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's On Death And Dying?

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyman a late 15 century best known morality play has the ability not only to present the doctrine of salvation but to impact non-believers (Goldhamer). Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 's , On Death and Dying, argued that people have different perspective towards death (Goldhamer 2). The play allows us to experience the behavior or attitude that a dying person overcomes when their faced with death (Goldhamer 2). The treatment of the play towards the audience is more likely as a sermon that is preached (Pineas 160).

    Read More

  • Epic and Gender: The Case of Gilgamesh

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cunningham. Lawrence S., and John J. Reich. Culture and Values; a Survey of the Humanities. 7th ed. Boston; Wadsworth, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • Macbeth's "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" Speech Vs. Robert Frost's "Out, Out - "

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    An unknown author once wrote “Never take life too seriously; after all, no one gets out of it alive”. When reading this quote, there can almost be an immediate connection between two very good works of writing: Macbeth’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” speech from Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, and the poem “Out, Out --” by Robert Frost. Both allude to the idea that a single life, in its totality, denotes nothing, and eventually, everyone’s candle of life is blown out. However, each poet approaches this idea from opposite perspectives. Frost writes of a young, innocent boy whose life ends suddenly and unexpectedly. His poem is dry and lacks emotion from anyone except the young boy. Whereas the demise of Shakespeare’s character, Macbeth, an evil man, has been anticipated throughout the entire play. Through these writings, we are able gather a little more insight as to how these poets perhaps felt about dying and life itself.

    Read More

  • Everyman

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    Everyman The play “Everyman” is about 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.” Throughout the play Everyman is deserted by things that he thought were of great importance portrayed by characters that take the names of the things they represent. Throughout the play Everyman asks the characters to accompany him on his journey to death. He starts with Fellowship, his friends, who promises to go with him until they are informed of the destination.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Death Essay

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is an eternal mystery and the most controversial subject stemming from human inexperience. Its inescapability and uncertainty can give insights on the core principles and vulnerability of human nature. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet he skilfully makes use of death as a lashing force to explore the depths of his characters along the way illustrating man’s continual dilemma “To be or not to be”?

    Read More

  • An Analysis of the Perception and Treatment of Death in Everyman

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author of the play Everyman views death from the Catholic point of view. The moral message to live each day with the goal of eternal life in Heaven in mind sets the tone of the play. Everyman illustrates that every man’s soul needs to be saved before death or he will not have eternal life with God. The author views death as the foundation of man’s spiritual journey with God in Heaven or as the initiation of the soul’s damnation. The author portrays death as God’s messenger. The play underscores a message that the treatment of death is similar for every man, as he is held accountable for his actions and deeds in life upon facing death. Additionally, the only way to avoid death is to strive towards achieving ever-lasting life with God in Heaven by living a Godly life on earth by avoiding the seven deadly sins and by accepting that Jesus Christ was sent to earth to ultimately be sacrificed for the sins of every man. Indeed, man should not be headlong to rebuke this, whereas the Bible states, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV). According to the strict rules of Christianity, if man leads a righteous life and controls his anger, fear and other negative emotions, he will still go to Hell if he does not accept Jesus Christ as his Savior (Morse, 2007).

    Read More

  • Topic of Death in Hamlet

    1425 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being that death is a universally explored topic, William Shakespeare, a master of English literature, opted to thoroughly investigate this complex notion in his play Hamlet. Shakespeare cleverly and sometimes subtly brings the reader/viewer through a physical and spiritual journey of death via the several controversial characters of Hamlet. The chief element of this expedition is undoubtedly the funerals. Every funeral depicts, and marks, the conclusion of different perceptions of death. Shakespeare uses the funerals of the several controversial characters to gradually transform the simple, spiritual, naïve, and somewhat light view of death into a much more factual, physical, serious, and down to earth outlook.

    Read More

  • Should gods be Moral?

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cunningham, Lawrence S., and John J. . Reich. Culture and Values. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.

    Read More

  • Rituals in Everyman and Endgame

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyman does not resist death and even prepares for it by performing the religious rituals of the seven blessed sacraments and scourging himself. Through the performance of rituals Everyman is trying to attain the ultimate goal of reaching Heaven. He finds that the only character that will accompany him on his journey is Good Deeds, but she is weak. This represents the idea that he has not done enough good during his life and must now do something to change.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Mere Mortals

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is an average of 823.7 deaths in a population of 100,000, 2,626,418 deaths per year and a life expectancy rate of 78.8 years. People die every day from illness, accidents, and natural causes. In this play the concept of mortality is woven throughout using comedy to get the point across. Mere Mortals by David Ives is piece made up of six one-act comedies put together to create one big play. With the first look at these six acts it is as if there is absolutely no connection to them, as if they are just six random plays thrown together. However, with further inspection it is seen that these plays have a few things in common. For one, theme, they all have a different main theme but looking more closely they have one thing in common: Mortality, life, and death. Ives also wrote all of these acts using many forms of figurative language. Mere Mortals, by David Ives inspects the concept of mortality using figurative language and a few different themes.

    Read More

  • Because I Could Not Stop For Death By Emily Dickinson

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    In poetry, death is referred as the end of literature and it is associated with feeling of sorrows. However Emily Dickinson demonstrates that death is not the end of literature or feeling of sadness but death is a new element of inspiration in poetry and is the beginning of a new chapter in our life. In the poem ‘’Because I Could Not Stop for Death’, she discusses the encounter of a women with death, who passed away centuries ago. Dickenson uses metaphors and similes to show that the process of dying can be an enjoyable moment by appreciating the good moments in life, and by respecting death rather than fearing it. Also Dickinson portrays death in a humorous way as she compares it to man seducing her to go to her death as well, to childhood games that show the innocence of this encounter (Bloom). The poem is a reflection of how unpredictable death can be. Death is a scary process in life that should not be feared because it should be celebrate as new start.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Play "EveryMan" by Anonymous Author

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyman is English morality play written by an anonymous author in late fifteenth century. The play’s represent the values that Everyman holds on to by its characterization. The spiritual life of Everyman was neglected by him, but he is quickly repents of his sins as the play develops. After realizing Everyman is summoned by Death, he doesn’t want to die and die alone for that matter. Everyman soon realizes that when he is seeking for a companion to go on a journey that he wants to go but there is no one available. He soon comes to terms that everyone will soon abandon him who accompanied him on earth. The play is in allegorical characters that represents variety of concepts such as (Knowledge, Good Deeds etc.)

    Read More

  • Is Suicide the Solution?

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout time, death has been viewed in a negative light. In general, it is an event to be mourned and is seen by some as the end to existence. People do not usually seek death as an answer to their problems. In various pieces of literature, however, suicide is contemplated by the characters as the only solution to the pain and grief that they experience.

    Read More

More about Perception of Death in the Play “Everyman"

Open Document