The Percepciont of Death on the Play Everyman Essay

Everyman is a Christian morality play written during the 1400s. No one yet knows who wrote this play. It is said that Everyman is the English translation of similar Dutch morality play of the same period called Elckerlijc. Everyman is generally represented as the best and most original example of the English morality play. â€Å"Like other morality plays from the late medieval period, it is meant to communicate a simple moral lesson to both educated and illiterate audiences† (Gyamfi Schmidt, 2011). â€Å"Everyman† is about a man who is content with his life when Death calls and tells him about his end. The author has used metaphorical names for characters to show up the moral of the play. â€Å"Everyman† is a metaphorical story that shows the value of†¦show more content†¦In Everyman, death is just a messenger for God. From the beginning of the play, it can be seen that Death is set below God. â€Å"The very opening of the play makes it clear that this messenger of Gods is an agent of correction rather than of punishment; God tells the audience that he is sending Death, not to slay evildoers, as in Herod and the Castle, but rather to call people to a reckoning, an explanation of what they have done with the lives lent to them† (Spinrad, 1987). Everyman did not want to go along with Death because life’s most disturbing power is death, death is so unfair, once one has tasted life death does not seem natural at all. â€Å"When Death explains that he is here to take Everyman on a â€Å"longe iourney† to make his â€Å"rekenynge †¦ before God,† Everymans incomprehension is humorous even as it reveals him to be deeply unread y for Deaths summons: he asks Death, â€Å"Sholde I not come agayne shortly?† Everymans inability to recognize the permanence of Deaths â€Å"journey† raises the question for the audience of what might constitute such recognition.† (Paulson, 2007). God finds that Everyman is not living in a right way so he asks on Death to let Everyman know that he has to give up his life. The author asks question in the play, what happens when you die? Everyman looks back into his life and tries to find a time that he can give up but he is not ready to do so. Throughout the play, Everyman begins to realize the things he thought were important