What is "morality play"

n. a type of allegorical drama towards the end of the Middle Ages that demonstrates a moral theme such as a character's inner struggle to attain moral enlightenment or salvation

n. an allegorical play popular in the 15th and 16th centuries; characters personified virtues and vices

The morality play is a genre of Medieval and early Tudor theatrical entertainment. In their own time, these plays were known as interludes, a broader term given to dramas with or without a moral. Morality plays are a type of allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a Godly life over one of evil. The plays were most popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. Having grown out of the religiously based mystery plays of the Middle Ages, they represented a shift towards a more secular base for European theatre. The earliest known morality play is Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum (English: "Order of the Virtues") composed c. 1151. It is the earliest morality play by more than a century, and the only Medieval musical drama to survive with an attribution for both the text and the music.

Morality Play is a semi-historical detective novel by Barry Unsworth. The book, published in 1995 by Hamish Hamilton was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.