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Morality Play
Morality Play, medieval form of drama which, with the Creed and Paternoster plays, aimed to teach through entertainment, as the Dominicans and Franciscans were beginning to do at the beginning of the 13th century. Sermons already contained the elements of drama, and it was not difficult for actors to inject into them the animation needed to convert abstract ideas into vivid verbal images, readily understood by the largely illiterate congregations of the time. Even supernatural and miraculous events could be made comprehensible, with specific Vices and Virtues, led by a recognizable Devil and a Good Angel, battling realistically for man's soul. The morality play, unlike the plays derived from the Liturgy, was not tied to any church service, but could be played at any time, given a sufficient number of actors and spectators. It provided excellent material for the use of the professional actors emerging from the many amateur groups by the middle of the 15th century; there must have been many more scripts of such plays than the handful which have survived. The only one to be seen on stage today is the Dutch Elckerlyc (c.1495), known in English as Everyman. This adaptation, prepared by William Poel, was produced in London in 1903, and has frequently been revived. As Jedermann, in a German version by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, it has played an important part in the Salzburg Festival since its inception.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Morality Play." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Morality Play." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-MoralityPlay.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Morality Play." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-MoralityPlay.html |
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morality plays
morality plays, medieval allegorical plays in which personified human qualities are acted and disputed, mostly coming from the 15th cent. They developed into the interludes, and hence had a considerable influence on the development of Elizabethan drama. They lost popularity with the development of naturalistic drama, but interest in them has revived in the 20th cent., prompted by a new interest in more mannered, pageant-like theatre, such as the Japanese Nōh theatre and the plays of Yeats and Brecht. Among the most celebrated English examples are Everyman; Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis by Sir D. Lindsay; Magnyfycence by Skelton; King John by Bale; Mankind; The Castle of Perseverance. See P. Happé ed., Four Morality Plays (1979); G. Wickham ed., English Moral Interludes (1976).
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "morality plays." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "morality plays." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-moralityplays.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "morality plays." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-moralityplays.html |
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morality play
morality play form of medieval drama that developed in the late 14th cent. and flourished through the 16th cent. The characters in the morality were personifications of good and evil usually involved in a struggle for a man's soul. The form was generally static, but it contributed significantly to the secularization of European drama. The first known moralities were called the Paternoster plays. The greatest English morality is Everyman . See miracle play . |
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"morality play." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "morality play." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-morality.html "morality play." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-morality.html |
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Morality Play
Morality Play, or Morality. A form of drama, popular in the 15th and 16th cents., in which a moral truth or lesson was inculcated by the chief characters personifying various abstract qualities. It developed independently of the Mystery Plays, but at the same time.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Morality Play." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Morality Play." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-MoralityPlay.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Morality Play." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-MoralityPlay.html |
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morality play
mo·ral·i·ty play • n. a kind of drama with personified abstract qualities as the main characters and presenting a lesson about good conduct and character, popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries. |
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"morality play." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "morality play." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-moralityplay.html "morality play." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-moralityplay.html |
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morality play
morality play a kind of drama with personified abstract qualities as the main characters and presenting a lesson about good conduct and character, popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "morality play." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "morality play." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-moralityplay.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "morality play." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-moralityplay.html |
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Morality plays
Morality plays: see THEATRE AND DRAMA.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Morality plays." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Morality plays." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Moralityplays.html JOHN BOWKER. "Morality plays." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Moralityplays.html |
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morality play
morality play See mystery play
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"morality play." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "morality play." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-moralityplay.html "morality play." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-moralityplay.html |
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moralities
moralities. See miracle plays.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "moralities." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "moralities." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-moralities.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "moralities." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-moralities.html |
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