Everyman Play Analysis Cameron Hart

Everyman, is a fictitious figure, who is supposed to represent all men. The play that people saw, included that this allegorical figure would represent everyone, man, woman, or the other gender diverse. It is a tale about a man who finds out that he will soon be visited by Death who was sent by G-d. At first he goes to his family, cousin, and kindred. They leave him once he tells them the news, of his imminent death. He then tries to find solace in the material things he has acquired in his lifetime, only for them to be taken away one by one. Then he calls upon his good deeds, however all his good deeds, cannot be fully revealed. With the help of Knowledge, Beauty,strength, discretion and five wits, Everyman approaches the gates of heaven only to find that the merit of his entry is solely based upon the good he has done in this world. It is a very interesting tale that is timeless. It was written by an anonymous writer, however the principles that it lays down are the foundation of the christian philosophy that was definitive of the european culture. Is it not true though, that when we die, we don’t take our families or friends with us, we don’t take out material possessions. We go forth only with the knowledge of did i help more than i hurt. Did i give more than I took. Was i honest more than I lied. Although I am not a religious man, the play did make me question what it means to come to terms with death, since that is the one certainty that comes in pair with life. I don’t believe in an afterlife, but i do believe that we are judged in some cosmic, “karmatic,” sense where we find out who were truly were before dissolving into the abyss.

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