morality play
3
9.9
- noun
- /məˈrælɪti pleɪ/
- Literature
:
obra de moralidad
- In its latest production, the drama club presented a morality play meant to teach the importance of honesty and integrity.
Examples
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But while he wanted me to see a morality play, it wasn't one with him as the hero, the suffering servant ministering to the needs of the downtrodden, the impoverished, the crippled.
Academic text (2000) -
Often they are built into legends and epic sagas, cautionary tales of loss and redemption, and morality plays that seem to offer clarity in the choice between heavenly success and divine retribution.
Blog text (3) -
And then with our show, too, it continued, You know, it was a morality play every week.
-
"Where medieval societies had morality plays, we have Brown."
Academic text (1994) -
The fact that McCarthy uses a trio of characters to anchor his morality play is no coincidence, of course.
Blog text (24) -
It's okay that this movie can be both a thriller and a multilayered morality play.
Blog text (24) -
Because the movie is basically a morality play or allegory using motifs from Greek drama.
Blog text (20) -
In this story, intended as a morality play, interethnic romance blurred ethnic differences and created patriotic Americans.
Academic text (2003) -
This performance by elaborately masked dancers of the Nyau, a secretive Chewa spirit society, is essentially a morality play about how to behave in society.
Academic text (2007) -
The theater group performed a classic morality play that illustrated the struggle between good and evil through its characters.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a dramatic work about moral themes used to teach right and wrong' is directly derivable from 'morality' (standards of right and wrong) + 'play' (a staged dramatic work). The noun+play composition meaning 'a play about X' is a common, predictable pattern cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words should understand this term.
Etymology
Morality play comes from old stage shows where characters were named for ideas like Justice or Greed and acted out good and bad choices. So the name joins morality (what is right and wrong) and play (a short show), and today morality play means a drama that teaches a 'moral lesson'.