A Comparison of “Everyman” and Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus”

A Comparison of Everyman and Christopher Marlowes bushel Faustus Everyman and load Faustus are both(prenominal) Morality Plays, these are specifically plays that existed within the Medieval stop. They were popular during this expiration as they were intended to instruct the earshot in the Christian port and attitudes to life. The morality play is essentially an allegory written in outstanding form. In the fourteenth Century, morality plays were mainly based on the sevensome deadly sins as in everyman with each graphic symbol representing each sin. Everyman centers nearly allegory.It focuses on the allegorical representations of moral issues with the inclusion body of figures that represent abstractions of the issues that are confronted. reconstruct Faustus follows the general five-act structure 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 struggle of mans soul and the skirmish 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 collide with the individual. However, in Doctor Faustus it is far more of an internal drama inner(a) Faustus? own mind. twain 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. wherefore the term ? morality play? correctly defines each one.The medieval time compass point in which Everyman was written contained a golf club that revolved around piety (Ecclesiasticism) The fact that Everyman prat get nowhere without turning to religion this instant reflects on the attitudes of the middle ages. There is consta nt references to the beliefs and ideas of the Catholic Church such as confession, penitence and the Virgin Mary this suggests the catholic centered society in which the play existed. It concentrates on the qualities of the catholic religion that are substantial in the journey to heaven. Everyman is a symbol of the human condition and how t is understood by medieval Catholicism. Whereas in the sixteenth century in which Doctor Faustus was written, saw a shift of Christian ideals. No interminable was on that point only the strict belief in God unless in any case the equal belief in the existence of the devil and the ? performance of the devil.? The medieval world placed God at the centre of existence, divergence the individual and the natural world in second place. The emergence of the rebirth is evident in Doctor Faustus by the clash between the church building and the introduction of knowledge through science.The Reformation caused a dramatic qualifying at that particular time, England had converted from predominantly catholic to a Protestant country. This shift becomes apparent in Doctor Faustus in the scenes with the pope. The Renaissance was also a time when the bubonic fire was at its peak of destruction. As a result the plague was a great concern of the theatre, audiences and writers. The plague was a large part of Marlowe? s life and work. Marlowe refers to the plague regularly in Doctor Faustus with examples such as ? A Plague on her.?Here Marlowe is victimisation specific linguistic process to reflect certain diorama of the precise period, being Reformation. When considering the audience of each play, this can again hold disagreement concerning the meaning of the term ? morality play.? Morality plays, as I have mentioned like Everyman, primarily express aspects of moral doctrine to the audience. In the Play Everyman, the anonymous author may have been a priest or teacher who was explaining the Christian values to an uneducated society. It is written by and for people of catholic religion. This would fit accurately into the description as a ? orality play.? However, some may argue that Doctor Faustus is more crotchetyly delivered as opposed to morally. Elizabethan audiences often viewed great tragedies such as this in a slightly humorous manner. Scenes such as the one with the Pope? s food and drink being stolen highlights this point. Also Marlowe includes numerous comical characters such as Wagner and Faustus? servant. Therefore can we still group this unitedly with the other morality plays such as Doctor Faustus? Contrary to this, it is polish off that the audience of the play Doctor Faustus are not simply an audience of ?Commoners or clowns,? they have to employ a certain level of intelligence agency and education to understand the symbolism and allegory present in the play. We can acknowledge the play of Doctor Faustus as one from the Elizabethan period as its verbs differ from modern day usage, with phras es such as ? What gather in you and ? You look not well.? Also Elizabethan playwrights wrote in blank euphony or iambic pentameter, as its evident here. Marlowe uses various Christian phrases to abduce the devil, who is providing the mightiness. The most obvious reference to Christian lecture is shown through Faustus?Latin Chant which is used to raise the devil. Marlowe? s technique of hyperbole is present by his regular usage of blasphemy in the play. By using exaggeration like this, Marlowe is affecting the audience? s perception of the character of Faustus. The language used gives the character heroic stature. Contrast to Doctor Faustus, The language in Everyman is solely based on religion. There is reference to the buffer sinner Adam and the seven deadly sins, this mainly focuses on the notions of Christianity. The language used in both Everyman and Doctor Faustus represents the conflict between power and Christianity.In conclusion, Marlowe borrows many of the conventions of a morality play especially with the inclusion of the good and bad angels. This symbolizes his divided will. This is mirrored in the play Everyman where there is an obvious spiritual crisis of an individual who must chose between good and evil. Both Everyman and Doctor Faustus effectively reflect the periods in which they were written. Faustus is the product of an era that was deep torn, it stands in the threshold between two periods-The Renaissance and the Middle Ages.It includes the notions of tidy and evil, sin and salvation, as did religious dramas of the medieval period such as Everyman. Although some may see this comparison as the rejection of the medieval imputable to further emphasis on the individual rather than God. After all, the spread scene of Doctor Faustus was praising science and magic in opt of God. So where do we draw the line? Everyman statically reflects the period of medieval whereas Doctor Faustus focuses on the actual change in that particular period of the Reformation. Therefore it is possible to see the alteration from one period to another.