The Morality Play in English Drama
ALLEGORY� (from the Greek “allegoria,” which means “speaking otherwise.” A story in prose or verse that has a double meaning or multiple meanings, both the obvious surface meaning and one or more secondary meanings, and thus must be understood on two or more levels.
DIDACTIC LITERATURE� literature used to teach a moral or a lesson. Most of the didactic literature in Europe was produced during the Middle Ages.
PSYCHOMACHIA� the battle within the individual�s mind or soul, often represented allegorically in literature as a conflict between virtues and vices for the possession of the soul.
APTRONYM� a name that fits the nature or character of an individual (a “label name”)>.
FABLE� a short narrative, often with animals as characters, that embodies a moral or a lesson.
EXEMPLUM� a short narrative used to illustrate a moral. Such stories were often used in sermons during the Middle Ages.
INTERLUDE� (literally, “between play”); a short entertainment put on between the courses of a feast or the acts of a longer play.
MORAL INTERLUDE� a type of interlude that was very similar to the morality play, though often shorter and more humorous. The dividing line between moral interludes and morality plays is not clear, and in many cases the two types of drama are indistinguishable. Several plays are classified both as moral interludes and as morality plays.
\\ tags: Literature, Morality