morality play

morality play
noun Date: 1879 1. an allegorical play popular especially in the 15th and 16th centuries in which the characters personify abstract qualities or concepts (as virtues, vices, or death) 2. something (as a court trial) which involves a direct conflict between right and wrong or good and evil and from which a moral lesson may be drawn

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • morality play —    Morality plays were popular dramatic entertainments in late medieval England. In contrast with the MYSTERY PLAYS, which retold the universal biblical history of salvation from the Creation of the world to Doomsday, morality plays focused on… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Morality Play — is a detective story by Barry Unsworth, a Man Booker Prize winning author for his book Sacred Hunger Published in 1996 by the W. W. Norton Company, the book was critically acclaimed and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.Time: Medieval times.… …   Wikipedia

  • morality play — ► NOUN ▪ a play presenting a moral lesson and having personified qualities as the main characters, popular in the 15th and 16th centuries …   English terms dictionary

  • morality play — n. any of a class of allegorical dramas of the 15th and 16th cent., the characters of which personify abstractions, as Everyman, Vice, Virtue, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Morality play — For the book by Barry Unsworth, see Morality Play (novel). A cover of a sixteenth century doodle Plays, Mundas et Infans The morality play is a genre of Medieval and early Tudor theatrical entertainment. In their own time, these plays were known… …   Wikipedia

  • morality play — an allegorical form of the drama current from the 14th to 16th centuries and employing such personified abstractions as Virtue, Vice, Greed, Gluttony, etc. Cf. miracle play, mystery play. [1925 30] * * * Allegorical drama of 15th–16th century… …   Universalium

  • morality play — noun an allegorical play popular in the 15th and 16th centuries; characters personified virtues and vices • Hypernyms: ↑play, ↑drama, ↑dramatic play * * * moˈrality play f8 [morality play] noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • Morality Play (novel) — Morality Play   First edition cover …   Wikipedia

  • morality play — moral′ity play n. lit.+sbz an allegorical drama of the 15th and 16th centuries in which personified virtues, vices, and other abstractions are characters Compare miracle play mystery play • Etymology: 1925–30 …   From formal English to slang

  • Morality play — These 15 16c plays usually had a central, allegorical figure, representing humankind between the personified opposing forces of vice and virtue. There was often a principal comic character. Cf. Miracle play; Mystery play …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • morality play — /məˈræləti pleɪ/ (say muh raluhtee play) noun 1. a type of allegorical drama employing personifications of virtues and vices, a form of which was in vogue in Europe from the 14th to the 16th centuries. 2. a play with a moral message …  

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