Reflexivity of Medieval Drama

Essay # 58542

A look at reflexivity (self-reflection) in medieval drama and, in particular, in the plays, "Mariken van Nieumeghen" and "Man's Desire and Fleeting Beauty".

1,554 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explores reflexivity in the medieval morality plays, "Mariken van Nieumeghen" and "Man's Desire and "Fleeting Beauty". The paper explains how both are reflexive in that they are both examples of a play-within-a-play: the play enacted within the play reflects the town's morality and quality of living as a whole.

From the Paper:

"Reflexivity is central in Dutch plays much like that of the York Pageant Cycle. Drama often served as a self-reflection for the city and its social norms and conventions. When reading the plays with cultural performance in mind, often the ideological multilayeredness is revealed. There is no one reason why the play was produced, and the play is reflexive of the city it was produced in more ways than one. Some Dutch morality plays were designed to instruct audiences in the Christian way of life and church attitude toward death. They differed from the cycle plays by not drawing from biblical stories and characters."