When it comes to setting up the play, a potential difficulty
could be defining the characters during the play; because the characters are
mostly representations of inanimate objects or character traits. This is either
an opportunity for the costume designer to “get creative”, and develop costumes
that represent the unique characters well; or the script will need to be
written creatively so that the audience members can identify which character is
which based on introductions and interactions throughout.
Everyman had a deep meaning that went beyond drama and
comedic relief. This play was carefully sculpted to inspire a sense of urgency,
in relation to life and the way we live it. For much of the play, the main
character, “Everyman”, insisted that he would change the way he was living if
he were granted the opportunity to be alive again. The writer is painting a
clear picture that we should be ready, “when our time comes”, by living our
lives with eternity in mind now, rather than living to satisfy every
flesh-filled desire that could send us down a path where there is no turning
back.
The writer was creatively able to inspire urgency by
developing the character of Everyman. Everyman represents every living human
who will eventually face judgement for the way he or she lived on earth. The
writer paints a picture of his/her interpretation of the end of life through
exchanges between Everyman and a number of characters who represent his life on
earth; people he thought he could depend on, his worldly possessions, his
character traits, and his good deeds. The writer was able to instill a sense of
urgency, to do the right thing, by showing that he cannot take anything with
him on his day of reckoning, except his good deeds. It is as though the writer
intended to provoke the audience/reader to reflect on the thoughtless decisions
we choose to make every day.
I noticed that this play could have been written by a priest,
or a catholic leader, because of the emphasis that was placed on confession.
The writer either believed that confession enables people to be judged in
accordance to their good deeds, or simply desired to influence people to live
in a posture of confession as it is necessary to live healthy as it establishes
inner healing. The part that I found difficult to dissect was the exchange
between Everyman and Doctor. Did anyone have any insight as to what the Doctor
represented?
I was under the impression that Doctor represented an actual medical or spiritual doctor, as in Everyman/every person faced with death would seek out an attempt to further their lives a little longer. I think a modern rendition of this play has some great "tragicomedy" potential. I imagine a hilarious representation of a modern person, perhaps a millennial or baby boomer, being faced with death and interacting with a modern version of Doctor, who could be a super-hippie new age doctor type character. That could really interesting playing off of modern everyday occurrences and thought patterns.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tyler. I could see that, just as a doctor would attempt to medicate people to prolong the inevitable at a hospital, this doctor may provide the same sort of opportunity to avoid certain death, at least for a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea for the modern rendition and based on a majority of your posts, I would say that you are full of good ideas. You are clearly intelligent; I hope you continue writing.
Thanks for your response Tyler!