Where Everyman Makes the Cut

The Summoning of Everyman by Anonymous
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a religious play, written and performed more than 500 years ago. Apparently, it was ripped off from a Dutch play, but folks were less fussy about such things back then. (I wonder if the English author went to confession for this?) Though it's meant to instruct a religious audience, and not really meant to entertain much then or now, it is still modestly interesting, and since it's pretty short I think others might like to look at it for a number of reasons.

It's an allegory, told almost like a pageant. A dude who represents all of us--Everyman--is informed by death that it's his time. He argues and bargains, as you do, but makes no headway. Still, he's allowed to recruit some help. None of his friends (here personified as Fellowship) want to go with him; neither do his family members (Kindred and Cousin). Goods (his money and things) is a no-go, too. Good Deeds would go, but she's pretty tired from neglect. It isn't until he gets Knowledge (of his sins, mostly) and Confession to help him that Good Deeds can even get up. Then Discretion, Strength, Five Wits, and Beauty join him, though they desert him right at the edge of the grave. Just Good Deeds is left. But, having observed the sacraments, especially confession followed by penance, Good Deeds is enough to get him into the Good Place.

Not much of a plot, really, but I found parts of it entertaining. It was interesting to look at the world from the perspective of riches, seeing how they endure, belonging to no one. After his death, they go to the next person, but that person will die, too. Wealth and property, looked at that way, are like the elves that go on and on while the humans come and go. Allegorically, we're short-lived pets to immortal wealth.

Also, as a non-Catholic, observing the characters (as written by a devout 15th century writer) take the very specific teachings of the religion so seriously, word for word and point for point, is interesting and informative. While in that world, identifying with Everyman, the sacraments are like magic, saving one from the horrors that come after death. The fear of being consigned to Purgatory and its corrective torments is palpable here, with the horror of hell immeasurably greater. Kinda terrifying. Coming at the story from outside the tradition, it reads like medieval fantasy, or at least a quaint and foreign belief system that is charming in its arcane rules and high-stakes outcomes. But then you recall how many millions of people--billions, I suppose--have lived their entire lives within that system, believing almost exactly what is taught here, and it's hard to not muse on the enduring strength of religion, for good or bad.

Anyway, as far as catechism goes, this version is pretty fun.

And it's surprisingly easy to read. This is from about 100 years before Shakespeare, but overall I found it easier to make sense of. A few notes are helpful, but for the most part a modern reader can just buzz through this.

If you want to read just for fun, this probably isn't it. But if you want to scratch a 15th century itch, satisfying your curiosity about the way people thought at that time, back before Martin Luther, back when England was as Catholic as anywhere in the world, it's worth looking through.

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