A Comparison of Everyman and Christopher Marlowes Doctor Faustus Essay

A Comparison of Everyman and Christopher Marlowes mend FaustusEveryman and repair Faustus are some(prenominal) Morality Plays, these are specifically plays thatexisted within the Medieval menses. They were popular during this period of time as they wereintended to instruct the audience in the Christian means and attitudes to life. The morality play is essentially an allegory written in dramatic form. In the fourteenth Century, morality plays were mainly based on the 7 deadly sins as in everyman with each character representing each sin. Everyman centers nigh allegory. It focuses on the allegorical representations of moral issues with the inclusion of figures that represent abstractions of the issues that are confronted.Doctor Faustus follows the general five-act mental synthesis of an Elizabethan Romantic Tragedy. However Christopher Marlowe used the structure of an older Medieval form of English Drama, the morality play as a model. Morality plays tended to show the moral s truggle of mans soul and the fighting of good and evil. This is evident in the play of Doctor Faustus who is embroiled in a battle between the temptation of the devil and God. You could argue that Doctor Faustus is not classed as a morality play. Because in the tradition of a morality play God and the devil are external forces that ingrain the individual. However, in Doctor Faustus it is far more of an internal drama at heart Faustus? own mind. Both are entirely didactic in nature, they were do with the intent to educate their audience in one respect or another. There was a moral to each that conveyed similar messages. Therefore the limit ?morality play? correctly defines each one.The medieval time period in which Everyman was written contained a society that r... ...the rejection of the medieval due to yet emphasis on the individual rather than God.After all, the opening tantrum of Doctor Faustus was praising science and magic in favour of God. So where do we draw the line ? Everyman statically reflects the period of medievalwhereas Doctor Faustus focuses on the actual change in that particular period of theReformation. Therefore it is likely to see the alteration from one period toanother.Bibliography- ?Doctor Faustus?-Christopher Marlowe- ?Norton Anthology of English writings?- Oxford Dictionary Online- ?LION?-- http//lion.chadwyck.co.uk- http//www.perseus.tufts.edu/Texts/faustus.html (3/12/03)- http//www.sparknotes.com/lit/doctorfaustus/ (5/12/03)- http//www.miracleplayers.org/everyman/play.htm (15/12/03)- http//www.luminarium.org/medlit/intro.htm (17/12/03)