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The Summoning of Everyman: Analysis and Use of Symbols and Characters

In the medieval morality play "The Summoning of Everyman" the use of symbols and characters plays a salient role in the development of the story. In fact, understanding the way these two elements of fiction are used in the play is key to understanding the moral message it attempts to endue in the reader. The very obvious representation of the symbols as characters in the work helps in its role as a Christian teaching tool.

The prominent way symbols are displayed in Everyman, via the names of its characters, hints at the thinly veiled sententious message the play seeks to convey. By not obscuring its message by using regular character names, the audience that would have heard this play would have received a more direct message. As the plot develops, we come to learn the theme that man must atone for his sins without relying on family, friends, beauty, discretion or strength (Halsall, Internet Medieval Source Book). The only things man can rely on are knowledge and his good deeds. By following the names of the characters, one follows the symbols at work in the message, and the simple thesis the author wishes to impart is understood.

It is also worthwhile to dig deeper to explore what exactly each symbol connotes in its medieval context. Perhaps most surprising is the author's symbolic message about friendship and kinship, which oddly desert Everyman in his journey to atone for his sins and give up his worldly ways. In modern times, emphasis is put on the reliability of friends and family. The medieval doctrine of friendship, however, was much different. In those ancient times, friendship and kinship had to be tested in order to ascertain whether these human bonds were true (Conley, John, Costerus, 11). And this morality play, like others of its time, seeks to teach in a very direct way that friends and family can be fickle compared to God's steadfastness. Everyman even explicitly says as much in the text, bemoaning, "Alas, ...

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The Summoning of Everyman: Analysis and Use of Symbols and Characters . (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 13:48, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/2001007.html