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The Pride of Life The Pride of Life is a good example of what is usually referred to as the morality play, which used to be popular in Europe, during the early Middle Ages. The historical value of it is far greater than the artistic one. It allows us to get an insight at the main principles of Medieval worldview. Back, in time when it was written (14 th century), the allegory was the most common method, for the people, to percept the surrounding reality. Usually, we think of allegories as the mean to rich the language, while in fact, they convey a message of its own. Being able to allegorically describe the event is the most important precondition for being able to operate with the abstract categories, which in its turn, is the precondition of philosophy and science.
In the 14 th century, the Christianity was at its strongest. Basically, the art and science could not exist, at the time, without being linked to this obscure religious concept. But Church slowly began to loosen its grip on people's minds, because it continued to use Latin language in its sermons. This prompted many people to freely interpret the Christian message. The author of The Pride of Life was one of them.
In 15 th century the Catholic Church in England decided to ban all the mysteries and the morality plays, which used Christian ideas, as the part of their fables, because these plays began to undermine Church' authority. It was James Mill, who preserved the original 14 th century text. The part of it was being destroyed in Dublin, during the fire of 1922. This is why we can never know what happened to the King of Life, after he challenges Death to a duel. But it is not too hard to figure out that he probably dies, in order to be brought to the heaven by the Holy Mary, or by one of Catholic countless Saints. According to Mill, the artistic effect of this play was minimal.
He explains it by the fact that the original author was not even very literate, because he confuses words in the play. Apart from this, it is quite impossible for us to be absolutely sure about whether the original viewers of the play were impressed by it or not. We do not even know the name of its author. It is very doubtful, in my opinion, that the play might relate to the realities of our time.
This is because the Christianity, as the religious concept, had lost all its credibility, in the light of different scientific discoveries. It is now turned into the meaningless ritual, deprived of any sense of logic. But one must be a Catholic, of the most primitive kind, in order to be able to fully appreciate The Pride of Life. This is the earliest known morality play, therefore, I was not able to find any heretical motives to be present in it directly, which would make it more interesting to read. It is only in 15 th century that the morality plays began to send the message of its own, being often critical of the clergy. In The Pride of Life, the clergy is actually being thought of in very high regard.
This reduces its value even further. The Bishop's endless monologue alone, would put most of the viewers to sleep, like it happens in contemporary Christian churches. But it would also be wrong to disregard play's artistic value altogether. In order for us to grow a bit more appreciative of it, we need need to look beyond its message. What becomes apparent, after reading The Pride of Life, is the fact author was an idealist, in the best sense of this word. His affiliation with Christianity is quite understandable, but this because he simply did not have any other option.
Author seems to think of life and death as inseparable. According to him, in death, the person has the freedom of choice, just as when he is alive. This is clearly a heathen motive. Being able to think about abstract issues, such as life and death, is what made us what we are are.
Otherwise, we would still be hunting down some wild animals, with the spear in our hand. Therefore, from the certain point of view, The Pride of Life can be thought of as very valuable, because of its abstract nature. It is especially true in time, when the return to the barbarism, such as leaving graffiti on public and private property, is being regarded as the expression of art. In my opinion, this play definitely should not be performed publicly, but it should be studied, as the part of our cultural heritage. Bibliography: Berger, Sidney Medieval English Drama: An Annotated Bibliography of Recent Criticism.
New York: Garland, 1990. Fort, Alice. and Kates, Herbert, Drama of the Middle Ages. 2002. Theatre Database. Nov. 27, 2006.
web The Pride of Life. Middle English Plays: The Texts. Nov. 27, 2006. web White, Jerry Early English Drama, Everyman to 1580: A Reference Guide. Boston: G. K.
Hall, 1986.
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