Death and Everyman

In the Medieval morality play Everyman, we are introduced a number of characters. Each character has a part to play in the human life, and each character has its own unique traits and eccentricities. The protagonist, Everyman, is a person that represents every human being. Everyman could be anyone on earth, even the reader or author of this page. At the onset, Everyman is approached by another character in the play on which we will focus the remainder of this discussion. This character is Death. The character of Death plays a short but critical part in this play, and carries out the direction of God to call Everyman to the final reckoning where he must make account for his life. The anonymous author of this late 15th Century play gives Death not only personification, but also a personality as Death deals with Everyman during his errand for God that starkly reminds us that Death will in fact visit Everyman.

God is obviously very disappointed and angry with humankind for a number of things. In God’s initial monologue, He shows disdain for the materialism of man, and the fact that they do not recognize, let alone fear God, even though He shed is “blood red” to “get them life”. God laments that humankind uses the seven deadly sins, focuses on worldly possessions, lives after its own pleasure and are so envious of their fellow man that they will devour one another. Humankind has once again become wicked and does not thank or praise God for the mercy and blessings that he has bestowed on them because they are all wrapped up in their worldly riches. Reminiscent of the great Flood of Genesis or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, God decides to use Death to accomplish his goal. In the account of the Flood we read:

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on