Question

Write a brief paragraph describing how you would Present Good Deeds on the stage. Use the details in her speeches as well as those in Everyman’s comments about her as the basis for your characterization
This is from Everyman. I’m confused with the question and what it’s asking. Can anyone help? I will give brainliest :))

Answer 1

Ok, first we need to start saying that this is a very complicated play about the deepest Christian tenets or principles, morality and the relationship between humankind and God.

Having said that, the assignment is to write a paragraph describing how would you present the character of Good Deeds on the stage, and you need to quote actual Good Deeds and Everyman lines in the play to validate your presentation of Good Deed on the stage. This is no easy task because the play is mostly written in Middle English and it is really difficult to understand at full. However, if we focus on just the main quotations, it can be done. Here is my proposal to present it as the paragraph:

Good Deeds represents the personification of love, empathy, and altruism as a female; the "mother" aspect of femininity, so the character would be a nurturing, sympathetic and affectual woman. She must have a sister called Wisdom that would be the one to also accompany Everyman in the pilgrimage along with the Five Wits, but in the end Everyman would be left alone and only Good Deeds would stay with Everyman. The character of Good Deeds would be a woman as mentioned before but she has two stages of evolution one is when she is weak and fragile because Everyman has not loved her, and the second is when Everyman realizes that she has been the only to be at his side and Good Deeds becomes stronger and more important. At the final part of the play Everyman says : “ Take example, all ye that this do hear or see How they that I loved best do forsake me, Except my Good Deeds that bideth truly.”  The play is quite interesting in general, but the main idea is to present how humankind pays more attention to immoral or banal things instead of the most important thing according to Catholicism, the moral rectitude and your actions. So Good Deeds should be presented as a very allegorical and emblematic figure on the stage.