Everyman

I thoroughly enjoyed the play Everyman, an anonymous play written around 1495. I could probably love ANY play written in this language, with such beautiful words and flow. I think that our society has lost a lot of the beauty that used to exist within language. However, even without the depth and attraction of the words, the story itself holds universal truths about the inevitability of death, and a journey that every living being eventually makes.

The play ultimately comes to the point that “All earthly things is but vanity; Beauty Strength, and Discretion do man forsake, Foolish friends, and kinsmen that fair spake- All fleeth save Good Deeds…” Everyman, learns that only the good deeds that he has performed and the knowledge he has learned stick with him. Everything else leaves him and betrays him. While Everyman would not be classified as a comedy, the witty way in which is portrays these points allows the reader/viewer to contemplate deep issues in a less obtrusive manner.

While I do not think that our society (or rather, world) is as religious as it was in 1495 when this pay was written, I still believe that the values of the play ring true. People have an overall fear of morality and dying, and whether or not readers or viewers agree with the religious aspect of the play, the insight that the play offers about human priorities is still very valuable. It is also interesting that our society is characters as “selfish and materialistic,” today, but that this author expressed the same fears about his society back then.