Type of Submission
Art Exhibit
Proposal
Everyman, the 15th c. morality play has been appreciated by audiences for centuries. Despite its age, antiquated genre, and overtly Catholic message the play still presents modern audiences with many redeemable themes. Everyman tells the story of an archetypal journey through life toward death. In the play, Everyman is confronted by Death and ordered to begin his journey to the grave. All of Everyman’s allegorical acquaintances refuse to follow him—all except Good Deeds. The play, leaning heavily on a Catholic tradition of works-based salvation, presents Goods Deeds as a frail female character who only needs to be strengthened by Everyman’s action to be strong enough to accompany Everyman to his grave and stand before God. Although Everyman clearly presents a works-based message of salvation, I think it is possible to subvert this mistaken message through the visual mode of costuming. While the script presents Good Deeds as an assistant in Everyman’s salvation allowing him to stand before God uncondemned, the Scriptures offer a very different image of good deeds. Isaiah 64:6 describes human works of righteousness as “filthy rags.” Designing Good Deeds’ costume to reflect the idea of dirty rags contradicts the play's misunderstanding, visually emphasizing her frailty. This frailty is further emphasized by giving her crutches to lean on, depicting the feebleness of human righteousness, even at its strongest. Everyman’s inevitable death and meager earthly existence are emphasized through his tattered clothing inspired by undergarments and burial clothing of the 1400s. In the end, Everyman is left in his grave with nothing but the rags of his Good Deeds to cover him, emphasizing the fact that every individual will stand before God stripped of all earthy goods and achievements, covered only by the incriminating remain of their sins, or what they thought were good deeds. This project presents two costume sketches, one of Everyman and the other of Good Deeds, accompanied by a detailed rationale and description, resulting in artful redemption of the play’s message through costume design that emphasizes the futility of man’s good deeds regarding salvation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Publication Date
2023
Everyman Costume Design
Everyman, the 15th c. morality play has been appreciated by audiences for centuries. Despite its age, antiquated genre, and overtly Catholic message the play still presents modern audiences with many redeemable themes. Everyman tells the story of an archetypal journey through life toward death. In the play, Everyman is confronted by Death and ordered to begin his journey to the grave. All of Everyman’s allegorical acquaintances refuse to follow him—all except Good Deeds. The play, leaning heavily on a Catholic tradition of works-based salvation, presents Goods Deeds as a frail female character who only needs to be strengthened by Everyman’s action to be strong enough to accompany Everyman to his grave and stand before God. Although Everyman clearly presents a works-based message of salvation, I think it is possible to subvert this mistaken message through the visual mode of costuming. While the script presents Good Deeds as an assistant in Everyman’s salvation allowing him to stand before God uncondemned, the Scriptures offer a very different image of good deeds. Isaiah 64:6 describes human works of righteousness as “filthy rags.” Designing Good Deeds’ costume to reflect the idea of dirty rags contradicts the play's misunderstanding, visually emphasizing her frailty. This frailty is further emphasized by giving her crutches to lean on, depicting the feebleness of human righteousness, even at its strongest. Everyman’s inevitable death and meager earthly existence are emphasized through his tattered clothing inspired by undergarments and burial clothing of the 1400s. In the end, Everyman is left in his grave with nothing but the rags of his Good Deeds to cover him, emphasizing the fact that every individual will stand before God stripped of all earthy goods and achievements, covered only by the incriminating remain of their sins, or what they thought were good deeds. This project presents two costume sketches, one of Everyman and the other of Good Deeds, accompanied by a detailed rationale and description, resulting in artful redemption of the play’s message through costume design that emphasizes the futility of man’s good deeds regarding salvation.
