Pilgrimage as a metaphor in Everyman

Introduction :- The Somonyng of Everyman (The Summoning of Everyman),

usually referred to simply as Everyman, is a late 15th-century morality play. Like John
Bunyan's 1678 Christian novel The Pilgrim's Progress, Everyman uses allegorical
characters to examine the question of Christian salvation and what Man must do to
attain it. The title page of Everyman announces the play as a “treatise” of “how the High
Father of Heaven send death to summon every creature to come and give account of their
lives in this world”, as well as informing the reader that this treatise is “in manner of a
moral play”. The first two characters to enter are God, “in a high place” on the stage or
performance space, and a Messenger, who delivers a prologue. The Messenger’s
prologue asks the audience to give their attention and listen to the “matter” (the
content) of this “moral play”. The Messenger then announces the purpose of the play:
That of our lives and ending shows. The play will show us our lives as well as our deaths (“our
ending”) and how we humans are always (“all day”) transitory: changing from one state
into another. Clearly, from the very beginning, the play is clear that it is to be a play about
the human experience, as well as one with an absolute focus on morals.The transitory of
human life is presented by the character Everyman through his pilgrimage.
Discussion :- The central theme to the medieval morality play Everyman is that on the final
journey on
the road of life, all companions of Everyman forsake him and only Good Deeds avail at the
final judgment.In the beginning of the play God is upset with Everyman for embracing the
seven deadly sins, so he calls for Death to seek out and punish every man who has
sinned.When faced with this accosting, Everyman begs for company on the journey to the
grave and Death allows Everyman to bring any companions who would be willing to
go.Everyman then seeks out Fellowship, Kindred, and Goods, however, all three refuse to
make the dangerous voyage to the grave with him.When Everyman calls upon Good
Deeds, he answers weakly, for he is tied down by Ropes of Sin and is unable to help.
Everyman then seeks out Good Deeds' sister, Knowledge, who leads Everyman to
Confession. Confession then frees Good Deeds from Ropes of Sin and the three journey
together to the grave.Other companions such as Strength, Beauty, and the Five Wits join
the three on the road of life, however only Good Deeds is able to enter darkness with
Everyman at the end.
A pilgrimage is a journey taken to a sacred or religious place, and it
has often been noted that Everyman's journey through the play is in some sense itself a
pilgrimage: a religious journey taken, ultimately, to heaven. Medieval writers often
compared life to a pilgrimage: a transitory journey to an ultimately spiritual goal.
Comparisons might also be made with those in holy orders, who, like Everyman, must learn
to live without belongings and let go of the things they are attached to in order to progress
on a spiritual journey. The pilgrimage itself, of course, is an important trope in medieval
literature, providing the base for, among many others, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
It is an interesting metaphor: life is a journey towards God. Here, though, the
emphasis is quite firmly laid on the fact that it is a journey that you ultimately make
alone. It is notable that the first friend to forsake Everyman is the only one to
represent humans – Fellowship - and the forsaking friends who come later in the play
are allegorical personifications of abstract qualities like strength or goods. The
message is bleak, but clear: other people will immediately desert you. It also provides
an interesting connection with religious orders (monks and nuns) who swear a vow of
poverty – like Everyman, they must lay aside their worldly goods. Everyman is - notably -
deserted by his Goods about halfway through the play, and told that love of Goods is
opposite to love of God. For Everyman, who is finely dressed, and whose friend, Fellowship,
holds a new robe in high esteem, part of the progression of the play is learning not to be
attached to worldly goods, and to focus his attention instead on things with spiritual value.

Conclusion :-