In medieval Europe, human psychology was understood in terms of the operation of forces seen as in some sense external to the individual: vices and virtues. The human being is the site of an ongoing conflict between the two, and in early drama the vices and virtues were physically realized as personifications that ranged from the general to the specific and increasingly political. In this course, we will examine these personifications, considering their language, their theatricality, and their variety. What did the vices and virtues offer as a way of discussing human experience? What were the possibilities and limitations of the allegorical mode of drama that they occasioned? 21.09 Schematic Vices and Virtues: The Castle of Perseverance I 28.09 Psychomachia staged: The Castle of Perseverance II 05.10 Virtue but no Vice: Everyman 12.10 Everyman performed 19.10 Everyman at the National: Carol Duffy’s adaptation for today 26.10 Singing along: Mankind I 02.11 Vice gets satirical: Mankind II 09.11 Virtues in the mind: Wisdom I 16.11 Virtues in dresses: Wisdom II 23.11 Vice gets political: Magnificence 30.11 Vice as a substitute: The Play of the Weather 07.12 Catholic Vice: The Three Laws 14.12 Vices, Virtues, and Social Justice: Satire of the Three Estates 21.12 Conclusions |