The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor
theatrical entertainment. In their own time, these plays were known as
interludes broader terms for dramas with or without a moral. Morality plays are
the type of allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of
various moral attributes who try to prompt them to choose a good life over one
of evil.
"it was morality that burned the books of the ancient sages, and morality that halted the free inquiry of the golden age and substituted for it the credulous imbecility of the age of faith. It was a fixed moral code and a fixed theology which robbed the human race of a thousand years by wasting them upon alchemy, heretic burning, witchcraft, and sacerdotalism"(H.L. MENCKEN, The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche)
Evolution of Morality Plays
Morality
plays were popular in the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe. They used
allegorical stories to teach a moral message, underpinned by Christian
teachings. The morality play is one of the three main types of vernacular drama
produced during the middle ages. Morality plays were an intermediate step in
the transition from liturgical to professional secular drama and combined
elements of each. They were performed by quasi-professional groups.
The
morality play appeared in the 14th century and thrived into the 16th century.
The legacy of the morality play however continued much longer. It resonates in
contemporary literature and drama. The morality play was a literary
steppingstone leading from the authority of the church. The morality play is
intimately related to the liturgical dramas of the Catholic church.
Morality
plays were suppressed in England primarily because the religious drama was
beginning to become an instrument of political-religious propaganda under
successive Roman Catholic and protestant government. Morality plays achieved
considerable sophistication. They were intended for an educated middle-class
audience moved along way towards secularization thus forming a significant link
between the medieval and modern theaters.
The
middle age was an era in European history that lasted from 1066 to 1485. During
this time religion became a key institution of society.
- Characteristics of the Morality
Play
Morality
plays of the medieval period revolved around the dramatization of allegories
mainly a clash between virtues and vices. All of these characteristics were
personified and the audience could see the virtues or vices trying to get
better of each other. This was a revolutionary improvement in medieval drama.
The most prevalent character seen is the personification of vice or the devil,
which made the audience fall into a state of wonder. The use of these
personifications continued even in the Elizabethan drama.
Examples of the Morality Play
the
finest examples f morality plays are: -
1.
The Castles of Perseverance (1420)
2.
Everyman (1510)
3.
Mankind (1470)
4.
Dr. Faustus (1588)
They
are didactic and intended to teach moral lessons to a general audience.
- Mystery Plays
A
medieval drama based on scriptural incidents (such as the creation of the
world, the flood, or the life, death, and resurrection of Christ)
Or
A
popular medieval play based on biblical stories or the lives of saints.
(From
Oxford)
- Evolution of Mystery Plays
The
use of Biblical figures in plays was observed as early as the 10th century and
they were called "tropes". The tropes gradually evolved taking into
consideration several popular elements of the audience and by the 14th century,
the evolution of the drama was considerable. During this time York (51 short
plays) and Chester (25 short plays) cities witnessed the performance of
developed plays in the form of "cycles". Fascinatingly, all the plays
were written under anonymous authorship and the cycles were well known based on
the regions in which they were performed.
The
English mystery cycles are also known as Corpus Christi plays dominated the
English stage throughout the 14th and 15th centuries and are regarded by many
critics as the most genuinely popular theater in English
history(Wickham91).
Reflecting
the central role of the church in medieval society, the plays dramatize the
biblical stories and apocryphal legends from the foundation of Christian faith,
from the creation story through the last judgment(Wickham91). To a medieval
town, the performance of a mystery was an event of immense interest.... the
magistrates ordered all the shops to be closed and forbade all noisy work. The
streets were empty, the houses locked up, and none but solitary armed watchmen,
specially engaged for the occasion were seen about the residences. All were
gathered in the public square (child xix). English mystery cycles were often
performed in conjunction with the feast of Corpus Christi set during the
summer, usually around Whitsuntide(Greenblatt448). The mystery plays were so
numerous that they began in the early morning before sunrise and lasted till
well past midnight (Beadle and king XVI)
- Characteristics of Mystery Play
Mystery
play is based on a religious theme. Mystery plays were originally used by the
clergymen to teach their illiterate congregation the principal stories of the
bible.
Mystery
plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux
with accompanying antiphonal song. they told of subjects such as the creation,
Adam and Eve, The Murder of Abel, and The Last Judgment.
- Examples of Mystery Play
Some
finest examples of mystery plays are: -
1.
Medieval mystery plays
2.
Noah
3.
Cain and Abel
4.
Abraham and Isaacs
