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  • Essay / Teachings of Terror and Optimism in Theatrical Performance The Second Shepherds and Everyone

    Fear in Morality Plays and Hope in Mystery PlaysMoral plays and mystery plays contained important messages that The Church hoped to teach the people. One of the best-known mystery plays was The Second Shepherd Play, while the most infamous morality play was Everyman. Both plays are about ordinary people, but The Second Shepherds' Play focuses more on engaging people in history while Everyman's intention is to encourage people to prepare for the afterlife . Overall, Everyman has a darker, more urgent tone to get people to change, while The Second Shepherds' Play is more uplifting. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayThe character of Everyman is relevant because he strives to live for material and earthly pleasures. He admits it, although it may be too late (Everyman, Author Unknown 309-308). Nonetheless, a flawed character is used so that the audience can have someone to relate to. Everyman also comments that he was not warned that death was coming soon (Author Unknown 302). The audience can learn from Everyman's mistake. Death does not choose whether you are rich or poor, healthy or sick, nor does it come with a warning. Death only does what it is told. This is seen at the beginning when God commands death to take everyone on its journey to death (Author Unknown 300-301). This is a warning to the audience that they never know when to expect death, so they should prepare for it while they have the chance. Everyone's name can also be seen as symbolism. Everyman has a play on words in the opening lines of the series. God declares: “Everyone thus lives according to his own pleasure” (Author unknown 300). Not only can we conclude from this statement that each person's character lives for itself, but that each person lives for himself. This idea is explored further in an article that also studies social criticism in Everyman. “When these generalizations about humanity take shape in the character of Everyman, signs immediately begin to appear that the immoderate preoccupation with wealth is indeed his main moral failing” (Harper and Mize, Material Economy, Social Economy and Social Critique in Everyman, 266). ). Everyman represents, literally and figuratively, every man (and woman) on earth. Meanwhile, The Second Shepherds' Play opens with all the shepherds (ordinary people) complaining about various problems. Coll complains about the weather and his low social status, Gib complains about the weather and his wife, and Daw complains about the weather and his low salary (The Second Shepherd's Play, The Wakefield Master 266-271). Complaints allow the audience to identify with the main characters, making them more likely to listen. The idea of ​​identifiable common characters is verified in an analytical essay on The Play of the Second Shepherd: "Much of the dialogue in the plays, for example, concerns the working conditions of the peasants who were experiencing new relationships with the earth. . . and to the animals that were so important to those involved in the development of the wool trade in England” (Kiser, Sheep and Humans in the Pastoral Ecology of the Towneley First and Second Shepherds' Plays 1). ConclusionBoth plays connect the characters to the audience, but The Second Shepherds play uses more than one character to do this. Using multiple characters allows the playwright to write about different,.