The play "The Summoning of Everyman" is a morality play. In the entire play, the characters personify moral abstracts and qualities. The author focuses on the most crucial attributes of life such as friendship, love, life, death and fidelity to a supreme being. The characters play a significant role in the play's plot. However, the role that Death and Everyone play is more significant to create the overall theme of morality. The paper examines the thesis that even though the author perceives Death as God's messenger, the rescuer of humankind and a fair judge, the primary focus is to cultivate Christian ideals in the living of humanity and prepare them for afterlife. The play is not majorly about death, but to admonish humankind to uphold a moral living in preparation for the eternal life. .
The play's author is anonymous. Everyman is the central character in the play, and he symbolizes humankind. He spends his life seeking and living in world pleasure in utter disregard of God. The immoral living o Everyman greatly disappoints God, who sends Death to the world to admonish those who disregard Him. The fearless life of Everyman surprises God. He decides to attack the people living sinful ways like Everyman. Everyman trades moral principles for wealth and material things. At the very first time Death meets Everyman, he delivers to Everyman the message of God about the end of his time on Earth and that he has to give an account of his life. Everyman tries all attempts to postpone the journey pleading for more time and even trying to bribe Death. Unfortunately, he cannot delay the trip. The characters such as Fellowship, Kindred and Cousin and Goods refuse to accompany him (Everyman, 2010). Good Deeds is too weak to accompany Everyman but offers him solace as he introduces him to Knowledge. Knowledge later presents Everyman to Confession who helps him call God for the forgiveness of his sins.
