The Medieval Times

Mystery plays: 

Mystery plays (which really thrived in the medieval time) were performances which re-enacted Bible stories and often held in churches. These were the first type of plays to formally develop in Europe. The main characteristics of mystery plays are the use of tableaus with an accompanying song. The themes range as mystery plays cover a range of Bible stories, including the Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the last judgement. A popular topic was life, death and the resurrection of Christ. 

Mystery plays often aimed at trying to gain funding for the church and spread the word of the bible in a more engaging, easy to understand, pleasing way. 

Morality Plays:

Together with the mystery play and the miracle play, the morality play is one of the three main types of drama produced during the Middle Ages. The action of the morality play centres on a hero, such as Mankind, whose inherent weaknesses which are exploited by personified evil forces such as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The characters often didn't have specific names in order for them to represent a group of people. This is a technique Brecht later adopted and it makes the audience less emotionally attached to a character and therefore the audience isn't affected by bias and can think more clearly about the point of the play - the moral message. Other figures such as God, Death and the Four Daughters of God (Mercy, Justice, Temperance, and Truth) are often also included within the performance. 

Here are some characteristics of morality plays:

• Characters: Characters personified moral qualities, such as charity or vice, or abstractions, such as death or youth.
• Setting: Morality plays were set outside of historical time or in no time.
• Protagonist: The protagonist represented a generic human character.
• Story arc: The common story arc was the temptation, fall, and redemption of the protagonist.
• Author: Morality plays were usually written by clergymen and were often anonymous.

Some examples of morality plays include:

• The Pride of Life
• The Castle of Perseverance, Wisdom, Mankind
• Everyman - Everyman follows a character called everyman who is meant to represent the average human. He is approached by a personification of death and is forced to go on this journey to God and present his life to him. God evaluates his life based on his good and bad deeds. The play ends with Everyman going around to everyone he knows begging them to vouch for him. However, no one will and when he is face to face with God the personification of Everyman's good deeds appears who is a old and frail character. God then decides that as he has mistreated and taking advantage of all of God's gifts he sends Everyman to Hell. The message behind the play reminds the audience (who wear very religious as Christianity was very popular in the medieval times) to continue to do good deeds everyday especially if they want to go to Heaven. 

Miracle play:

Miracle plays are the last type of play that was popular during the Middle Ages and it would follow the lives or the stories of Saints and their Miracles. They were usually performed on Holy Days such as Christmas (the birth of Christ) or Easter Sunday (the Resurrection of Christ). The plays also helped enhance church service on festival days. Furthermore, not everyone was well educated so acting out the miracle made it easier to understand and remember. 

One example is: Le Jeu de Saint Nicolas, by Jehan Bodel, performed in 1201. In Bodel's play a Christian army invades Muslim land but is defeated by the Saracen King and his Army. The soul survivor, bourgeois "prudhom", of the Christian army is found praying to a statue of St Nicholas. Prudhomme tells the king of Saint Nicholas' reputation for guarding wealth, so the king decides to test the statue and the Prudhomme. The Prudhomme may live if the statue safeguards the king's treasury. Word of the test spreads to a tavern, where thieves are drinking and gambling; they soon make off with the treasury. Saint Nicholas appears to the robbers, who return the wealth in fear. A general conversion of Muslims to Christianity ensues, and the Prudhomme is released. 

These plays were used to spread the word and power of God. they were also very entertaining and would increase popularity for the church. 

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019). Morality play | dramatic genre. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/morality-play-dramatic-genre.