Everyman (play)

The Somonyng of Everyman (The Summoning of Everyman), usually referred to simply as Everyman, is a late 15th-century English morality play. Like John Bunyan's novel Pilgrim's Progress, Everyman examines the question of Christian salvation by use of allegorical characters, and what Man must do to attain it. The premise is that the good and evil deeds of one's life will be tallied by God after death, as in a ledger book. The play is the allegorical accounting of the life of Everyman, who represents all mankind. In the course of the action, Everyman tries to convince other characters to accompany him in the hope of improving his account. All the characters are also allegorical, each personifying an abstract idea such as Fellowship, (material) Goods, and Knowledge. The conflict between good and evil is dramatized by the interactions between characters.

Setting
Like the characters, the setting is allegorical: God speaks from heaven, then sends Death to earth to seek Everyman, who ascends to heaven in the final scene. Figuratively, the setting is anywhere on earth.

The cultural setting is based on the Roman Catholicism of the era. Everyman attains afterlife in heaven by means of good works and the Catholic Sacraments, in particular Confession, Penance, Unction, Viaticum and receiving the Holy Eucharist.

Synopsis
The oldest surviving example of the script begins with this paragraph on the first page (reproduced below):

"Here begynneth a treatyse how þe hye Fader of Heven sendeth Dethe to somon every creature to come and gyve acounte of theyr lyves in this worlde, and is in maner of a morall playe." [Here begins a treatise how the high Father of Heaven sends Death to summon every creature to come and give account of their lives in this world, and is in the manner of a moral play.] The play opens with a prologue, which takes the form of a messenger telling the audience to attend to the action to come, and to heed its lesson.

Then God speaks, lamenting that humans have become too absorbed in material wealth and riches to follow Him. He feels taken for granted, because He receives no appreciation from mankind for all that He has given them.

"Of ghostly sight the people be so blind, Drowned in sin, they know me not for their God; In worldly riches is all their mind, They fear not my rightwiseness, the sharp rod..."

So God commands Death, His messenger, to go to Everyman and summon him to heaven to make his reckoning. Death arrives at Everyman's side and informs him it is time for him to die and face judgment.

"On thee thou must take a long journey: Therefore thy book of count with thee thou bring; For turn again thou can not by no way, And look thou be sure of thy reckoning..."

Upon hearing this, Everyman is distressed as he does not have a proper account of his life prepared. So Everyman tries to bribe Death, and begs for more time. Death denies Everyman's requests, but will allow him to find a companion for his journey, someone to speak for his good virtues.

"Yea, if any be so hardy That would go with thee and bear thee company. Hie thee that you were gone to God’s magnificence, Thy reckoning to give before his presence."

Fellowship, representing Everyman's friends, enters and promises to go anywhere with him. However, when Fellowship hears of the true nature of Everyman's journey, he refuses to go, saying that he would stay with Everyman to enjoy life but will not accompany him on a journey to death.

"If Death were the messenger, For no man that is living to-day I will not go that loath journey... yet if thou wilt eat, and drink, and make good cheer, Or haunt to women, the lusty companion, I would not forsake you, while the day is clear...

Everyman then calls on Kindred and Cousin, who represent family, and asks them to go with him. Kindred refuses outright:

"Ah, sir; what, ye be a merry man! Take good heart to you, and make no moan. But as one thing I warn you, by Saint Anne, As for me, ye shall go alone."

Cousin also refuses but makes excuses:

"No by our Lady; I have the cramp in my toe. Trust not to me, for, so God me speed, I will deceive you in your most need.

But Cousin also explains a fundamental reason why no people will accompany Everyman: they have their own accounts to write as well.

"For verily I will not go with you; Also of mine an unready reckoning I have to account; therefore I make tarrying. Now, God keep thee, for now I go."

Everyman realizes that he has put much love in material Goods, so Goods will surely come with him on his journey with Death. But Goods will not come, saying that since Everyman was so devoted to gathering Goods during his life, but never shared them with the less fortunate, Goods' presence would only make God's judgment of Everyman more severe.

"Nay, Everyman, I sing another song, I follow no man in such voyages; For and I went with thee Thou shouldst fare much the worse for me..."

Everyman then turns to Good Deeds. Good Deeds says she would go with him, but she is too weak as Everyman has not loved her in his life.

"If ye had perfectly cheered me, Your book of account now full ready had be. Look, the books of your works and deeds eke; Oh, see how they lie under the feet, To your soul’s heaviness."

Good Deeds summons her sister Knowledge to accompany them, and together they go to see Confession.

"Now we go together lovingly, To Confession, that cleansing river."

Confession offers Everyman a "jewel" called Penance if he repents his sins to God and suffers pain to make amends:

"I will you comfort as well as I can, And a precious jewel I will give thee, Called penance, wise voider of adversity; Therewith shall your body chastised be..."

In the presence of Confession, Everyman begs God for forgiveness and repents his sins, punishing himself with a scourge:

"My body sore punished shall be: Take this body for the sin of the flesh; Also though delightest to go gay and fresh; And in the way of damnation thou did me brine; Therefore suffer now strokes and punishing!"

After his scourging, Confession declares that Everyman is absolved of his sins, and as a result, Good Deeds becomes strong enough to accompany Everyman on his journey with Death.

"Everyman, pilgrim, my special friend, Blessed by thou without end; For thee is prepared the eternal glory, Ye gave me made whole and sound, Therefore I will bid by thee in every stound."

Knowledge gifts Everyman with "a garment of sorrow" made from his own tears, then Good Deeds summons Beauty, Strength, Discretion and Five Wits (i.e. the five senses) to join them. They all agree to accompany Everyman as he goes to a priest to take sacrament.

"Everyman, hearken what I say; Go to priesthood, I you advise, And receive of him in any wise The holy sacrament and ointment together..."

But after taking the sacrament, Everyman tells them where his journey ends, and again they all abandon him – except for Good Deeds.

"O all thing faileth, save God alone; Beauty, Strength, and Discretion; For when Death bloweth his blast, They all run from me full fast."

Beauty, Strength, Discretion, and the Five Wits are all qualities that fade as a person gets older. Knowledge cannot accompany him after he leaves his physical body, but will stay with him until the end.

"Nay, yet I will not depart from hence depart, Till I see where ye shall be come."

Content at last, Everyman climbs into his grave with Good Deeds at his side and dies, after which they ascend together into heaven, where they are welcomed by an Angel.

"Now the soul is taken the body fro; Thy reckoning is crystal-clear. Now shalt thou into the heavenly sphere, Unto the which all ye shall come That liveth well before the day of doom."

The play closes as the Doctor, representing a scholar, enters and provides an epilogue, explaining to the audience the moral of the story: that in the end, a man will only have his Good Deeds to accompany him beyond the grave.

"And he that hath his account whole and sound, High in heaven he shall be crowned; Unto which place God bring us all thither That we may live body and soul together. Thereto help the Trinity, Amen, say ye, for saint Charity."

Adaptations
Another well-known version of the play is Jedermann by the Austrian playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which has been performed annually at the Salzburg Festival since 1920. The play was made into a film in 1961. Frederick Franck published a modernized version of the tale entitled "Everyone", drawing on Buddhist influence.

A direct-to-video movie version of Everyman was made in 2002, directed by John Farrell, which updated the setting to the early 21st century, including Death as a businessman in dark glasses with a briefcase, and Goods being played by a talking personal computer.

The play has been translated into the Filipino language by Ronan Capinding and the translation has had numerous stagings in the Philippines.

In popular culture
The word "everyman" has come to be a common noun, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as, "n. An ordinary person, representative of the human race." It is not known if the definition preceded the play in usage, or the common definition was coined by the play.