general outlines the course of the development of the English Moral Plays, from their first appearance at the beginning of the reign of Henry VI. down to the time of Henry VIII. The two oldest Moral Plays to which I have had access, 'The Worlde and the Chylde,' and 'The Moral Play of Every Man,'* are closely related, both in spirit and character, to 'The Castle of Perseverance,' and accordingly still frequently remind one of the Miracle Plays. The piece entitled 'the Worlde and the Chylde,' † treats of the same subject. Chylde is Humanum Genus, man, and the story of his religious and moral life; the play describes how man devotes himself to this world; from the cradle up to the fourteenth year to his physical wants, as a youth to his pleasures and inclinations, as a man, under the sway of the seven deadly sins in living entirely for the world. Although Conscience does indeed lead him to a better path, folly soon entices him from it, and he proceeds further along the road to destruction, till in the end, as an old man, miserable, decrepit, and sick of life, he is again succoured by Perseverance, directed to look to heaven for grace, and is instructed in the twelve articles of faith and the ten commandments; he is finally converted, and concludes the piece with an admonitory address to the audience: this forms the actual substance of the representation. Every character on its first appearance begins by delivering a speech in which it introduces itself, greets the audience and explains its own peculiarities. The dialogue is rather clever in some passages, as for instance between Manhood and Folly-and begins to flag only where the instructing and preaching commences. Yet in both pieces-as in the case of most of the Moral Plays there is a total absence of genuine action. The language is still very like that of the Mysteries, the versification quite similar but freer, the rhymes are not so skilfully interlaced, the diction rather fluent.

A closer resemblance to the ancient religious plays is found in The Moral Play of Every Man,' or, as it is

*The former, printed in 1522, but, according to safe indications, was evidently written before 1506 (Collier, ii. 306 ff.), the latter not printed till 1531, but is probably older still (according to Collier, p. 310, was perhaps written as early as the reign of Edward IV.). Hawkins, i. 35 ff.

† In Dudsley's Old Plays, xii. 30, 336.

called in the prologue, the 'Sommonynge of Every Man.' Here God Himself, speaking in the second person, begins the representation with an accusation against the human race, which, unmindful of His blessings, His sufferings and death on the cross, thoughtlessly lives on in worldly pleasures, abandoning itself up to the seven deadly sins. God therefore sends Death as a messenger; he is to call Every Man (Humanum Genus) to account before His throne; it is in vain that Death is entreated by Every Man to grant him a short time more of life; Death is inexorable. Every Man now tries to procure a companion to accompany him on the dismal road, but all his best friends, trusted comrades, relations, and prosperity forsake him. It is only Good Dedes that would like to go with him, but she is too weak and powerless, for Every Man has almost starved her. She, however, recommends her sister Knowledge. Instructed and consoled by her, Every Man is conducted to the holy man Confession; he here acknowledges his sins, does penance, and is thereupon sent to a priest to receive the holy sacrament. Upon returning he begins to feel weak, and at the last moment he is forsaken even by Beauty, Strength, Dyscrecyon, and Five Witts. It is again only Good Dedes, who has in the meantime become stronger, that accompanies him; with his hand in hers, he meets Death and dies with a prayer on his lips. An angel finally announces that he has been received into the heavenly spheres, and the Doctor,' in the epilogue, recapitulates the moral of the piece, in a few words of exhortation.

·

The play was probably written by a priest; indications of this are found in the occasional introductions of bits of Latin, especially, however, in the long eulogy on the clergy and the power of the Church. The allegory, as we see, is very ingeniously worked out, and the whole piece, both as regards language and character, possesses a certain dignity, an earnestness and an impressiveness, from which it is evident that such dramatic representations must have influenced the moral culture of the people. The versification differs in so far from that of the Mystery, as the longer couplets are wanting, and the short lines generally rhyme in twos and twos, occasionally cross-wise. language also is purer and more refined.

The

While these two pieces still turn upon the very general idea of good and evil, and still regard it from the religious point of view, John Skelton's Magnyficence; a goodly Interlude,' etc., * is already very specially directed against the evil of extravagance, or rather it is a warning to the lords and the nobility, to observe and not to confound generosity and a free and noble existence with extravagance, recklessness and a licentious life. Magnyficence is a prince of high birth and great wealth, who, however, by a confusion of ideas, is led astray by Fancy, Counterfeit Countenance, Crafty Conveyance, and Courtly Abusyon, finds himself thrown into poverty, misery, and despair; but Good Hope, Redresse, Cyrcumspeccyon, and Perseverance save him, and he is again restored to his former position. Collier † is of opinion that the piece may have been written as early as the reign of Henry VII. However, from an allusion to the death of Louis XII. of France, which occurs on line 283 f., it cannot have been composed till after 1515, probably soon after the death of Louis. It is just possible that Skelton wrote the play, not without some special reference to the inclination of his pupil Henry VIII., to lead an extravagant and licentious life. For that it was given on some festive occasion in the king's presence, can scarcely be doubted when we consider Skelton's position as poet laureate. It not only differs internally from the earlier Moralities, by its special con ception of the moral, its many allusions to the failings of the age, its more refined culture, wit and humour, but also externally by the essentially different versification. The longer and skilfully interlaced rhyming couplets of the old Mysteries--which were probably the result of the musical way in which they were at one time performed, and which appear to be connected with the poetry of the Minne-Sänger have completely disappeared. The dialogue is generally carried on in lines of from ten to fifteen syllables with rhymes side by side, reminding one forcibly of the Alexandrine; it is only in some of the monologues that we meet with lines in the so-called 'Skeltonian metre,' that is, very short lines of from five to six syllables with * In the excellent edition of his works by A. Dyce, i. 225-311. † ii. 325. Ritson in Dyce, ii. 236.

interlaced rhymes, which Skelton almost invariably used in his lyric poems, and appears to have introduced into English literature. Now, although these long lines, like the Alexandrines themselves, owing to their excessive length, have something heavy about them, still they are far more appropriate for dialogue than the exceedingly undramatic rhyming couplets of the old miracle plays. Hence, this innovation in the linguistic form of the dialogue indicates a progress in the development of the taste for dramatic form, and appears to me to be almost as important as the different stamp of character which Skelton's piece bears in regard to the conception of the subject.

Skelton appears likewise to have been the first to introduce personages from common life among the allegorical figures; this he did in his earlier Moral Play, The Nigromansir,' which was printed as early as 1504, but which has been lost. In this case not only is the performance opened by a necromancer, who summons the devil, but there also appears a notary, as the assessor or secretary of the devil, the latter having to decide in the law-suit between Simony and Avarice, upon which the whole piece turns. The path struck by Skelton appears to have been followed further in the Moralities. In one entitled 'The Nature of the Four Elements,' which Collier analyses, and which, from a passage referring to the discovery of America, must have been written about the year 1517, there appears an inn-keeper, and no longer as a mere dumb personage. The object of the piece is to convince mankind, and especially the English, who are said to waste their time in compiling ballads,' and 'other matter not worth a mite,' of the necessity of studying philosophy and the sciences. In this case the moral subject is already treated with perfect freedom, and the allegory appears, so to say, but as a loose and wide garment, which, having half fallen from the shoulder, allows the flesh and blood of actual life to be everywhere recognised.

A further step in advance is made by Hick Scorner, a Morality, imprinted by Wynken de Worde,' without date, but no doubt printed soon after 1522.† The piece * ii., 319 ff.

+ Collier ii. 308; reprinted in Hawkins, i. 77-111.

remained long well remembered by the people, for 'Hick Scorner's jests' are mentioned in a publication belonging to the year 1589.* In fact the whole piece seems already to be intended more for amusement and entertainment, than for moral instruction. The moral forms, as it were, but the framework into which the representation is arranged. The play begins, it is true, with a complaint from Mr. Pity about the degraded state of the people; his friends Contemplacyon and Perseverance join in this complaint and pray to God that things may improve, whereupon the three separate. This scene, however, is but

a kind of introduction, it is succeeded by the actual body of the play, some interviews between Frewyll, Imaginacyon and Hick Scorner, figures which, without much regard to their allegorical significance, are depicted very much like the dissolute profligates of the licentious times of Henry VIII. They converse jocosely together and laugh at their own pranks, in which Theft and Deceit, but especially Voluptuousness and Gluttony play a great part, in so cynical a manner, that it is clearly evident that the play was intended only for a public of a very mixed description, perhaps for the lower classes. This Interlude ends with a quarrel between Frewyll and Imaginacyon. Pity interferes and tries to conciliate the disputants, but is insulted by all three and put in chains. He is found in this plight by his two friends, who release him, and send him off to look for his tormentors. But Frewyll comes into their way of his own accord. After some speeches on both sides they succeed in converting him, and with his assistance, Imaginacyon also is made to promise that he will improve. This concludes the play: Hick Scorner, although he had given his name to the piece, does not appear again. It is only on account of the commencement and the conclusion of the play, that it can be called 'a Morality.' It is interesting, not merely owing to the prevailing popular tone, but precisely on account of the gradual disappearance of the moral tendency, with which consequently the allegory is likewise withdrawn. Hick Scorner, as the name in fact shows, can scarcely be regarded as an allegorical figure; he is an individual character who

*Said to be by Nash.