EN 2140 Lecture Notes - Christopher Marlowe, Morality Play, Theatre
Document Summary
Basic theme of morality plays endless struggle between good and evil to possess man"s soul. This is also part of the very common outdoor biblical preaching explaining the choices that face humanity. Allegory was also extremely popular with characters like slander, danger and. Morality plays were also fueled by christianity"s increased interest in life and afterlife encouraging people to think upon their last ending. death becomes a character in the plays in front of which everyone stands equal. Constantly faced with dilemmas and choices that can easily be classified as good or evil. Constantly surrounded by death, always in fear. Imagery of death is present, skulls and skeletons, continuous obsession and presence. Reminded how temporary our presence in the world is. Created art and tension for theatre art. Audience could not relate to this too. Imagery of death was present in all visual arts as well skulls, skeletons, death heads.