Personification and Morality Theme Analysis

Everyman, which belongs to the genre of the morality play, is meant to instruct readers in matters of morality and religion. A common form of medieval drama, morality plays often feature a protagonist who represents humankind as well as other characters who personify abstract ideas such as different virtues and vices. The interaction of such characters demonstrates the possibility of human triumph over sin, thus instructing the play’s audience to lead more moral, godly lives. The moral lessons of Everyman are facilitated primarily by the author’s use of allegory and personification, which allow the author to encapsulate complex ideas like death and friendship into simplistic characters, in turn allowing him to make sweeping and blunt moral arguments about the concepts the characters represent.

The most obvious example of this is the character of Everyman himself. The author uses the character as a symbolic representation of every man, thereby diminishing the diverse nature of humanity in favor of viewing all humanity as tainted by sin (since, according to Christian theology, all humans are innately sinful as a result of Adam’s and Eve’s fall from grace). The author presents Everyman as sinful by pointing out his greed, lust, and lack of Christian piety, effectively reducing all of humanity to one specific kind of person and ignoring the possibility of generosity, virtuousness, and piousness in his depiction of mankind. However, casting one character as the personification of all humanity enables the author to make much broader moral arguments than he would otherwise be able. The presentation of Everyman as a sinner doomed for damnation allows the author to make a convincing argument that all people should, like Everyman, behave in a certain way in order to avoid damnation. It’s notable that Everyman must not only behave virtuously and generously towards others, but he must turn to the Catholic Church to earn redemption. The reward, according to the author, is not only escape from fiery pits of Hell but also the promise of eternal bliss in Heaven.

Other examples of the author’s didactic use of personification include the portrayal of Fellowship (or friendship) as an enabler of Everyman’s sins, Goods (or material wealth) as a stain on his soul that sabotages his relationship with God, and Knowledge (or the knowledge of the Catholic Church) as the key to salvation. By defining complex ideas like friendship, wealth, and knowledge in so narrow a manner, the author paints a picture that suits his moral worldview, in which Catholic teachings and behavior are cast as mankind’s only deliverance from sin and damnation. In this way, Everyman not only takes a view of morality as something which can only be attained through the Catholic Church, but of people in general as innately sinful and dependent on the Church for their salvation.