The Sacrifice In Everyman's Journey

Throughout the process of confession and then penance Everyman faced with dealing with both sacred and demonic characters. Not only within the people that he came into contact with along his journey to meet with God but also his internal struggles that he faced along the journey, when coming to peace that he must make an account of his life and face death.
The conservative dramaturge, in order to teach and solidify the communitas of viewers has Everyman also deal with the allegorical sacred. On his journey, Everyman meets Death who wanted Everyman to come with him at that very moment; however, Everyman not being ready to go tries to bargain with Death to get more time. Death comes across as a scary aspect of life that Christians do not want …show more content…
I give thee no respite. Come hence, and not tarry. (Everyman 124-30)
Though death is a natural part of both life and of the medieval Christian religion and a constant companion of the medieval person, The dramaturge’s efforts in reminding the communitas to follow the traditional Christian way of living to ensure that they will end up in heaven rather than hell. Paulson states:
In order to recognize death, Everyman must recognize the extent to which he is separated (and separable) from the world in which he lives; penance, however, remains as the rite that holds individuals both responsible to their community and accountable for their actions before God. (122)
The dramaturge relies on the human commonality of death to make Everyman a relatable character audience …show more content…
He is dead yet alive and struggles to acknowledge his time with Death. The setting of the play is entirely within the liminal space that Everyman is in. It is the time place that Everyman is held from the time that he is called upon by Death until he actually enters the ground. It is not until he lives in the liminality of life and death that he realizes Death’s importance to the remainder of his time on Earth. Death’s role creating the liminal space that captures Everyman throughout this play allows the communitas to see the internal struggle that Everyman faces on his way to make accounts for his Death creates a liminal space within the set-up of the play. Everyman is not dead but is not alive either, he is in this in between world created by Death’s presence. Mills states; “… Death’s initial commission is to warn, not to destroy, his coming can be read as a subjective realization rather than a physical attack by some terminal disease” (Mills 134). Seeing Death’s as a means to warn Everyman and not harm him portrays himself as a character wanting to do good, by performing a scared

Show More

Related Documents: The Sacrifice In Everyman's Journey

English Research Paper