Examine Everyman as a morality play or dramatized sermon.

Everyman is a late 15th century
morality play which deals with the summoning of its protagonist, called Everyman, who
represents the mankind, by God through Death. In a medieval morality play, the setting
as well as the characters are abstract and allegorical, dramatizing the archetypal
battle between the forces of good and evil. In that sense Everyman
is also an an allegorised sermon in an early dramatic
form.

God feels that human beings are too engaged in the
pursuit of material wealth to remember him. He asks Death to visit Everyman and bring
him to God for accounting. As Death visits Everyman, he feels distressed and unprepared
for the journey. He even tries to bribe Death in order to be spared. His efforts
failing, Everyman now looks for others to accompany him to speak in favor of his
virtues. Fellowship, consisting of Everyman's friends, refuses to go with him to death.
He then approaches Kindred and Cousin, representing his family, to go with him. But even
they do not agree. Since Everyman has been engaged all his life in procuring material
goods, he believes such goods would accompany him. But Goods also disagree because his
presence would further have pushed Everyman in God's disapproval in Heaven. Everyman now
turns to Good Deeds, but she is very weak for Everyman has lifelong neglected her. She,
however, seeks the support of her sister, Knowledge, and they together approach
Confession. Confession offers Everyman a jewel, Penance, and Everyman repents for his
sins. Confession declares Everyman as absolved of his sins, and consequently his Good
Deeds strengthen to accompany him in his journey with Death. Knowledge gives Everyman a
'garment of sorrow' made up of his own tears. Good Deeds summons Beauty, Strength,
Discretion, Five Wits who all now accompany Everyman as he goes to a priest for
sacrament. But after the sacrament, all of them, except Good Deeds, abandon Everyman.
However, Everyman, now content, goes to the grave with his Good Deeds beside him. He
then climbs to Heaven to be welcomed by an Angel. At the end, the Doctor, a scholar,
comes to sound the moral that only the 'good deeds' of a man accompanies him to the
journey beyond.

Characters are all personified
abstractions, and the message is strongly didactic. The plot underlines the basic moral
discourse in its medieval paradigm.