Everyman

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1485

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. Who is sent to tell Everyman that he is going to die?

2. Why is Good Deeds unable to accompany Everyman at first?

3. To whom does Knowledge take Everyman?

4. What does Knowledge give Everyman to wear as a symbol of his repentance?

5. Who announces that Everyman has been admitted into Heaven?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is God upset at the beginning of the play?

2. Why is Goods unable to accompany Everyman to his reckoning?

3. Why do Knowledge and Five Wits take issue with some priests?

4. What is the moral of the play, as explained by the Doctor?

Paired Resources

Dante’s Inferno, Canto 3

The famous third Canto of Dante’s Inferno, describing the entrance to Hell
Another example of Medieval religious literature (published in the 14th century)
Shared themes include Death and Reckoning, Sin and Repentance, and Earthly Versus Eternal.
Why does Hell exist in the theology of the Inferno? How does Hell represent God’s love? How can one avoid going to Hell?

Recommended Next Reads

Mankind (Anonymous)

A late-15th century morality play following the journey of Mankind from sin to repentance
Shared themes include Sin and Repentance and Earthly Versus Eternal.
Shared topics include morality and judgment.

Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Marlowe’s famous dramatization of the legend of Doctor Faustus (Faust)
Shared themes include Death and Reckoning, Sin and Repentance, and Earthly Versus Eternal.
Shared topics include morality and the condition of the soul.
Doctor Faustus on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

Reading Check

1. Death (Lines 63-71)

2. Because she is too weak to move, having been weakened by Everyman’s sins (Lines 486-588)

3. Confession (Lines 535-44)

4. A garment of sorrow wet with his tears (Lines 636-47)

5. An angel (Lines 894-901)

Short Answer

1. At the beginning of the play, God complains that people pursue worldly goods instead of serving him. (Lines 22-62)

2. Goods explains to Everyman that he can only accompany a person in the worldly realm, no further. (Lines 414-21)

3. Knowledge and Five Wits speak of the importance of the priesthood, but they condemn corrupt priests who break their vows or accept bribes. (Lines 750-70)

4. The Doctor explains at the end of the play that when a person dies, they can take only Good Deeds with them to their final judgment. All worldly things, such as Goods and Fellowship, will be of no use for them after they die. (Lines 902-22)