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The morality play is a genre of Medieval and early Tudor theatrical entertainment. In their own time, these plays were known as ''interludes'', a broader term given to dramas with or without a moral.〔Richardson and Johnston (1991, 97-98).〕 Morality plays are a type of allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a Godly life over one of evil. The plays were most popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. Having grown out of the religiously based mystery plays of the Middle Ages, they represented a shift towards a more secular base for European theatre. The earliest known morality play is the 14th century play ''The Pride of Life'', of which only the facsimile of a fragment remains. The earliest complete surviving morality play is ''The Castle of Perseverance'' dated between 1400 and 1425 and preserved in the Macro Manuscript along with two other early moralities, ''Mankind'' and ''Wisdom''. ==Characteristics== Morality plays typically contain a protagonist who represents either humanity as a whole or a smaller social structure. Supporting characters are personifications of good and evil. This alignment of characters provides the play’s audience with moral guidance. Morality plays are the result of the dominant belief of the time period, that humans had a certain amount of control over their post-death fate while they were on earth.〔King, Pamela M. "Morality Plays". ''The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre''. Ed. Richard Beadle. Cambridge: Cambridge U P, 1994. 235. Print.〕 In ''Everyman'', perhaps the archetypal morality play, the characters take on the common pattern, representing broader ideas. Some of the characters in ''Everyman'' are God, Death, Everyman, Good-Deeds, Angel, Knowledge, Beauty, Discretion, and Strength. The personified meanings of these characters are hardly hidden. The premise of ''Everyman'' is that God, believing that the people on earth are too focused on wealth and worldly possessions, sends Death to Everyman to remind him of God's power and the importance of upholding values.〔''Everyman and Other Miracle and Morality Plays''. Ed. Stanley Appelbaum and Candace Ward. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. 36-59. Print.〕 The emphasis put on morality, the seemingly vast difference between good and evil, and the strong presence of God makes ''Everyman'' one of the most concrete examples of a morality play. At the same time, most morality plays focus more on evil, while ''Everyman'' focuses more on good, highlighting sin in contrast.〔King, Pamela M. "Morality Plays". ''The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre''. Ed. Richard Beadle. Cambridge: Cambridge U P, 1994. 257. Print.〕 Other plays that take on the typical traits of morality plays, but are rarely given the title of "morality play" are ''Hickscorner'' and ''The Second Shepherds' Play.'' The characters in ''Hickscorner'' are Pity, Perseverance, Imagination, Contemplation, Freewill, and Hickscorner. They blatantly represent moral ideals.〔 Everyman and Other Miracle and Morality Plays. Ed. Stanley Appelbaum and Candace Ward. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. 60. Print. 〕 In ''The Second Shepherds' Play'', the characters are less obviously representative of good and evil, being primarily a trio of shepherds. But other characters such as Mary, The Child Christ, and An Angel show a strong moral presence and the importance of God in the play.〔 Everyman and Other Miracle and Morality Plays. Ed. Stanley Appelbaum and Candace Ward. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. 12-35. Print. 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Morality play」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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