Morality+Plays

Morality Plays    Morality plays were based off the idea of the mystery plays and miracle plays. They were the three main types of vernacular dramas. Mystery plays were developed to teach people about things as they were watched a live theater performance. Morality plays began in the fifteenth and sixteenth century when The Church wanted to teach people, in a dramatic and interesting way, the Christian way of life, and the Christian views on death. The play really depended on the public because the public wasn’t there to watch, then the play could not show.

Basically, a play would consist of a person, always male, in a difficult circumstance where that person had to make a moral decision. The person would either have to choose from good or evil. The plays would always end in good. Therefore, the people watching these short plays always walked away having learned a new moral. Interestingly, the people in the play were named the quality that they would represent. If an actor were representing loyalty, then his character’s name would be Loyalty.

At the end of the fifteenth and early sixteenth century, Morality plays started to become more secular. The new kind of morality plays focused more on te aching people the ethics and warning people on committing sins. As time went on, the actors noticed that the people in the crowd were getting restless. So, the actors started to add more humor to the scenes to attract more people. So, by 1500, The Church no longer supported the plays. Morality plays were designed to be able t o be performed i  n any open space, without any scenery and almost no props. They have a minimalist design because morality plays were designed to for the general public, usually without much money.  [|Internet Shakespeare]

[|Enclypedia Britannica]

[|History Channel]

[|New World Encylopedia]

By: Melissa