Discussion Topic
The significance of the journey or "pilgrimage" in the play "Everyman"
Summary:
The journey or "pilgrimage" in the play "Everyman" signifies the inevitability of death and the moral reckoning that follows. It represents Everyman's journey towards salvation, highlighting the importance of leading a virtuous life and being prepared for the final judgment. The pilgrimage underscores the transient nature of worldly possessions and relationships, emphasizing the eternal value of good deeds.
What is the significance of the term "pilgrimage" in the play "Everyman"?
A pilgrimage, to a faithful Christian in the Middle Ages, was a sacred voyage from one’s everyday life and routine to a sacred place, usually a church where the powers of saints were strongest (because of the presence of relics, etc.) The actual journey itself was arduous and (as in Chaucer’s depiction) not so much solitary and meditative as it was a bustling collection of travelers with diverse motives, for whom the “holy destination” was merely an excuse to “do business”, or to carouse. The difference between a pilgrimage and just any old journey was the stated (if hypocritical) motive. The anonymous writer of “Everyman ”, by referring to Everyman’s journey as a “pilgrimage”, is reminding the audience that our journey through Life is also supposed to be a “pilgrimage” to a holy place—Heaven (specifically, in the presence of God)—and that along the way we may have forgotten that...
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motive, and succumbed to the temporary pleasures of the world. Like our looks, friends, etc., all our “companions” will desert us and we will take the final steps in our pilgrimage alone, except for the Good Deeds we performed along the way.
What is the significance of the journey in the play Everyman?
Den Spyeghel der Salicheyt van Elckerlijc (The Mirror of the Salvation of Everyman), the play on which English versions of Everyman are based, was written in Dutch around 1470, first printed in 1495. Unlike Everyman, whose author is ostensibly "Anonymous," Elckerlijc is attributed to Peter van Diest, possibly from the Netherlands or another of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and part of northern France).
The earliest known English translations of Elckerlijc are fragments by Richard Pynson, printed around 1528, and a compete translation by John Skot, in Middle English, printed around 1529. (The Medieval Period ended in England around 1485, so to call Everyman a medievalmorality play isn't entirely correct. It's more like a medieval-type morality play, and the play is not nearly as old as many people think.)
In these earliest translations, the terms "journey" and "pilgrimage" are used interchangeably, as in the Skot translation.
GOD: Go thou to euery man
And shewe hym in my name
A pylgrymage he must on hym take...
(Go thou to Everyman
And show him in my name
A pilgrimage he must on him take...)
DETHE: [to Everyman].
On the thou must take a longe Iourney...
(On thee thou must take a long journey)...
EUERY MAN. Dethe yf I sholde this pylgrymage take...
(Death, if I should this pilgrimage take...)
Modern versions of Everyman also use the terms "journey" and "pilgrimage" interchangeably.
A "journey" is defined, generally, as an act of traveling from one place to another. A "pilgrimage," however, is more than a simple journey. A pilgrimage is a long journey to a sacred place, usually as an act of religious devotion, or to pay homage to a person or place, such as Jerusalem.
It appears that Everyman is on a journey, not a pilgrimage, but his journey is not to any place in particular. It's certainly not to a sacred place, or to pay homage to any person or place; rather, it's a journey to find someone, anyone, who will go with him and stand before God to help him account for his life and be taken into Heaven.
Everyman's journey seem futile and destined for failure. Everyone deserts or rejects him, and Everyman despairs of ever getting into heaven.
Ultimately, however, it is Everyman's Good Deeds, and only his Good Deeds, who goes with him to stand before God and helps Everyman get into heaven.
This is the moral of Everyman, of course, as explained by the Doctor at the end of the play.
Everyman's journey is symbolic (and a condensed version) of his, and every person's, solo journey through life. The only thing that truly matters is the good deeds that we do while we're on our journey from birth to death.