Literary Analysis of Everyman
Theme: Morality
Introduction
‘Everyman' is a morality play that teaches about salvation that was planned for the purpose of saving man from the sinful nature. However, man does not value salvation since he focuses on worldly riches and pleasure. The bitter truth is that God wrath is upon the human beings since they do not serve him and for this reason, he judges everyman's souls and actions to decide who will go to the hell and who will receive the eternal life. A man should understand that good deeds and morality are the key aspects in attaining the eternal life.
In the sinful world, it is clear that man knows very well that death will occur not only because of loving material things more than God but also because of failing to adhere to the law of God. In other words, those who live ungodly lives fear death as they know they will not attain the eternal life (Fonseka, 1). On the other hand, righteous do not fear death since they know there is life after death or in other words they will attain the eternal happiness in the heavenly kingdom. This morality play has a significant message which modern Christian churches should learn. First, Christians should learn that sin is sweet but at the end, it causes negative consequences as it leads to death and damnation that will occur during the day of resurrection (Scott, 1). Christians should also understand that all the worldly things including pleasure and beauty will come to an end and the world around us will collapse.
In literary analysis, the main objective of ‘Everyman' is to counsel the Christians to obey and follow God in order to be saved. The point is God showed his love to man by allowing his only son to die on the cross where he shed blood, suffered and finally died. However, human beings continue to forsake Christ and love the worldly pleasures and engage in the seven deadly sins (Cusick, 1). God says that "Every man liveth so after his own pleasure" (Moses, 1). In this statement, God outpours his wrath upon the humanity as he is disappointed by their sins. The worldly things have made them blind to an extent that they do not know God. For this reason, God calls death to come and destroy all those who love riches and all whose minds are on fleshly lusts. Everyman communicates a religious message to Christians regarding their life in this sinful world. Christians learn that despite the fact that the world is full of sins, they should uphold virtues and morals so that they may attain eternal life after death (Keyishian, 1).
The key message is that even though the original sin makes the man to carry the burden of sin, a man should struggle or make extra efforts to overcome the sinful nature in order to avoid damnation and receive salvation (Hadfield, 1). Since death is inevitable and no one prepares to meet death, a man should be devoted to morality, repent, confess and do good deeds. By so doing, man will receive a spiritual power that will guide him in the spiritual journey.
Conclusion
The play provides a valuable message and a religious meaning which helps the Christians put an extra effort to attain salvation. The purpose of the play is to save the human soul by giving human beings moral instructions based on the importance of doing good deeds and avoid the worldly pleasures. Good needs play role in helping one acknowledge and repent sins and to continue with the spiritual journey.
References
Moses, M.J. ‘Everyman’. Retrieved from:https://archive.org/stream/everymanmorality00moseiala/everymanmorality00moseiala_djvu.txt
Cusick, Nicole ‘The Summoning of Everyman’. DC Metro. 2013
https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2013/11/03/the-summoning-of-everyman-at-the-edge-of-the-universe-players-2-by-nicole-cusick/
Fonseka, Gamini., EA. A Critical Analysis of the English Morality Play, The Summoning of Everyman. http://www.academia.edu/7335610/A_Crtical_Analysis_of_the_English_Morality_Play_EVERYMAN
Hadfield, Andrew. The Summoning of Everyman. Online Publication Date: Nov 2012
DOI:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199566471.013.0006
Keyishian, Harry. "The Summoning of Everyman (review)." Shakespeare Bulletin, vol. 26 no. 3, 2008, pp. 45-48. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/shb.0.0022
Scott, Daniel. What A 15th-Century Morality Play Can Teach You About Legacy Planning. Forbes. 2017
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielscott1/2017/12/10/what-a-15th-century-morality-play-can-teach-us-about-legacy-planning/#2ecb32a64629
