CHAPTER II MORALITY AND INTERLUDE 7. The Temper of the Middle Ages.-Out of the dimness of the Middle Ages rise three great institutions, Chivalry, Feudalism, and the Church, respectively dominating the social, the economic, and the religious life of the people. Each of these, it will be observed, was in its own way aristocratic, and each subordinated the will of an individual to a power greater than itself. Courtesy, loyalty, and faith became ideals closely interwoven, and in the seeking of these all transitory things were worthless. Faith indeed was ever enjoined, and Augustine, Bernard, and Thomas Aquinas alike emphasized the wonders of a world not seen. Such a world, however, was an abstraction; and more and more the simple truths of life were expressed in terms of allegory and moralizing. So-called Debates were popular, the best being that between the Body and the Soul; and there were Dialogues or Disputations-between a Christian and a Jew, a Good Man and the Devil, and between the Child Jesus and the Masters of the Law. Bestiaries drew lessons for human conduct from the lives of lower animals; humanity struggled against the Seven Deadly Sins; and even the language of love became stilted and conventional. As such influences affected everything within reach, they not unnaturally left their impress on the drama. 8. Moralities. Not so much out of as by the side of ་ the Miracle play in its later growth developed the Morality. We have already found in the definition of this particular form of play (§ 3) that it placed emphasis on a didactic motive and that its characters were abstractions. It is difficult to overemphasize the tendency toward allegory; in fact, it is hardly too much to say that a Morality was an allegory cast in the form of a play. The form has many points of contact with early French literature, with such a work, for instance, as the Roman de la Rose; and it "originated in the desire to bring into clear relief the great lesson of life-the struggle between good and evil to which every man is subjected, and the solution of which depends for every man upon his relation to the powers contending for his soul." The form became very popular in the course of the fifteenth century, and it continued even until the close of the sixteenth. In the course of its later development it occasionally incorporated comic elements, and it even became a medium of controversy, in one way or another reflecting the changes of church policy in the difficult period from Henry VIII to the earlier years of Elizabeth. Something of this later development was represented by Sir David Lindesay's Satire of the Three Estates (1540), an attack upon the corruption of the Church in the period of the Reformation. 1 The Moralities that have come down to us generally date from about the middle of the fifteenth century, and they show an interesting transition from the more general treatment of the conflict of the powers of Good and Evil for the soul of a man throughout his whole career to the more particular consideration of a definite crisis in his life, especially that of approaching death. In The Castle of Per 1 Ward, C. H. E. L., V, 23. severance, Humanum Genus is portrayed in the different stages of child, youth, mature man, and old man. Led by his Evil Angel, he is brought to Mundus, who gives him various gay companions. As a young man he comes under the spell of Luxuria (Licentiousness), and he continues in his evil courses until he is at length brought by Poenitentia to Confessio, who leads him to the Castle of Perseverance (or Constancy), where he is surrounded by seven Virtues. The Castle, in a strong scene, is attacked by the powers of Evil, and by the Seven Deadly Sins; but the Virtues fight valiantly, the besiegers are driven back, and the Castle is saved. In his old age, however, Humanum Genus yields to the temptations of Avaritia, who has crept up to the walls, and under the spell of the new voice he goes forth from the Castle that has been his fortress. When he dies his soul is saved from his Evil Angel and Hell only by the entreaties of Mercy and Peace. In Mankind, a Morality which is of about the same date as The Castle of Perseverance, Mankind is portrayed "in the world." Warned by Mercy to beware of New Gyse, Now-a-days, and Nought, he applies himself diligently with his spade at his work of tilling the ground. Mischief comes on the scene, however, and Titivillus, "arrayed like a devil and with a net in his hand," makes temptation easy by his theft of the spade. When Mercy comes on the scene again he finds that Mankind has fallen. Repentance and forgiveness follow in approved fashion. It will be observed that this play, while not as great in scope as The Castle of Perseverance, had the special merit of fixing attention upon a climax, or definite critical moment in the life of the hero, and that it gave some distinct opportunity for characterization and humor. Greater than either of these plays, however, was Every man, a work of art that in superb fashion combined moral import and histrionic effectiveness, and that even within recent years has seen a noteworthy revival on the stage. The date of the play is not fixed, but it was probably in the latter part of the fifteenth century. Everyman, suddenly called to a long journey by Death, protests that he is not ready, offers a thousand pounds for some delay of the summons, and begs for twelve years in which to make clear his account-book. No respite is given; he is told, however, that he might take with him any of his friends who will bear him company. Fellowship, a brilliant and gay character, who has lightly promised to stand by him even unto death, refuses to move when put to the test; Kindred and Cousin are also unwilling to go on the journey; and Riches, a friend at other times, scoffingly bids Everyman good-day. Only Good Deeds, who, bound by Everyman's sins, had long lain cold in the ground, seems willing to help him in his hour of need. At this point enters Knowledge, who advises Everyman to go with him to the dwelling of Confession. Everyman now subjects himself to the scourge of penance and puts on the robe of contrition. Good Deeds meanwhile has gained so much strength as to be able to rise and join Everyman and Knowledge. Discretion, Strength, Five Wits, and Beauty are summoned, and all journey on together until they approach the grave. Beauty refuses to enter; she leaves, and in turn is followed by her companions. Knowledge remains outside the grave, and only Good Deeds accompanies Everyman to the hereafter. In the sureness with which it holds itself to the main theme, in its characterization, and in its effort to humanize the abstractions of the old Morality, Everyman is incomparable. 2 9. Interludes." The advance implied in the Morality consisted not so much in any increase in the vitality of the characters or in the interest of the plot (in both of which, indeed, there was usually a falling off), as in the fact that in it the drama had freed itself from the bondage of having to choose its subject-matter from one set of sources-the Bible, the Apocrypha, and the Lives of the Saints." Thus arose the Interlude, the next great form that the drama assumed. The exact meaning of the term has given rise to much discussion. It would seem to indicate a short play thrust in between other things, such as the courses of a feast; but, whether this is true or not, the Interlude was certainly intended as a brief comedy, rather a farce, designed primarily for entertainment; and, placing emphasis on current social types, such as a Pardoner or a Peddler, it became characterized by realistic and satirical elements. "The line between the morality and the interlude, as between the later interlude and regular comedy, is artificial at best. But it is clear that the vital principle of the morality was its interest in life and conduct as affecting the actions of man. The vital principle of the interlude was also its interest in life; but the ulterior end and purpose, guidance to moral action, had been lost and the artistic sense set free. The interlude deals with comedy; it loves what is near and familiar, and its methods are realistic." 3 Typical of the new form was Hick Scorner (or Hyckescorner) (c. 1525), a play in which an old man, Pity, is belabored and finally placed in irons by three rascals, Freewill, Imagination, and Hick Scorner, the first two of whom 'Neilson, Introduction to Julius Caesar, 14. 'Schelling: Elizabethan Drama, I, 78. 1 |