What is the primary purpose of morality plays?

• A. To teach moral lessons by personifying abstract concepts
• B. To narrate historical events
• C. To criticize political regimes
• D. To entertain with secular jokes

Answer: (A)

Morality plays teach moral lessons by personifying abstract concepts such as Virtue, Vice, and Death, placing the human soul in a clear, moral drama. The aim is didactic: to show how a person’s choices align with or against Christian virtue and how those choices affect salvation. By turning virtues and vices into characters, the drama makes ethical ideas concrete and memorable for audiences, especially in a largely illiterate society. This focus on instructing how to live righteously is why that option is the best fit. They aren’t primarily about recounting historical events, critiquing rulers, or delivering secular humor, which is why those alternatives don’t fit as the main purpose.