Medieval Morality Plays
Throughout time, there have been many books, plays, songs, pamphlets, sermons, lectures, etc. written. These writings were all written with some kind of purpose to either inform, persuade, entertain, or teach their audience. One such form of literature not too widely known about is that of the medieval morality plays. These plays were not aimed to entertain, but to teach morals and religion to the uneducated lower classes of people in medieval Europe. The morality plays were also quite necessary to teach and inform the underclass people, through the thoughtful persuasion of play entertainment. Morality plays, as said above, were most popular and most widely present in medieval times. They were also found in the early times of the renaissance, but in those times they were aimed more for entertainment rather than their original purpose of teaching and informing. (Warren 2). Location wise, most morality plays were written by French and English playwrights, but they can be found throughout Europe at that time. (1). An early predecessor of the morality plays were the mystery and miracle plays of the earlier medieval period. (1). Of the two, morality plays were more similar in the aim of the messages and suc
Morality Play. 22 Feb 1999. In conclusion, the morality plays of the 14th, 15th, and 16th century medieval periods have a rich history behind them. The morality plays did not only entertain the higher, educated classes of the medieval times, but they taught Christian morals and values to the uneducated lower class of people. Without the morality plays, the underclass people would of never learned about their religion and in result many things in the church may not be how we know it now. The morality plays also persuaded modern drama and that too, may of been very different from what it is today if it wasn't for the medieval morality plays. All in all, morality plays were important for the cultural growth of the western world. Hanning, Robert W. "Miracle, Mystery, and Morality Plays." The Encyclopedia Americana. Because the morality plays were to teach about religion and morals, the church had many influences in their writing. In fact, the medieval church was very aware that the ideals of the Bible could be effectively taught to the uneducated community through the morality plays and exceedingly supported the plays. (Dohrn 1). One scholar was noted to say that "morality plays were virtually sermons dramatized through allegory." (Morality Plays 1). As history explains, in 16th century England, there was a division between the Roman Catholic and the Protestant Anglican church. This division of the churches caused a problem for the morality plays. The problem which was created was that the morality plays were suppressed because both churches believed that the plays were a tool of politico-religious propaganda. (1). By virtue of this suppression, many uneducated people were not able to get the proper teachings from the Bible and often times the sermons. Warren, K.M. "Moralities (Morality Plays)." The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1998 ed. The opinion of the morality plays have changed considerably over time. When the plays were first in their development stage, no one knew what to really think about them. As time progressed, they gradually built up their strength and became something great. Many theatre historians believe
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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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