Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Passion Plays

 

            Passion plays are based on the life and suffering of Jesus Christ, on the creation of the world, and stories from the bible. However, the earliest recorded passion play was written in 2000 BD and was not based on Jesus Christ or any biblical stories, instead, it was based on the Egyptian king Osiris. Osiris was murdered brutally and pieces of his body were scattered everywhere. His wife Isis gathered up the pieces of his body and formed a cult based on worshipping Osiris. Osiris is resurrected into a god. Thus showing that the principal object of passion plays then was the suffering and glory of a god. Before passion plays were formed in christianity, Easter plays represented dramas. People wanted to know more about Christ's life and most of all, his passion. Therefore, passion plays were created; first in Latin and then in German. Some passion plays start with the story of Adam and Eve, and end with the dispersion of the Apostles. .
             Passion plays rose in the fifteenth century, and with that rose their cities and economy. The cities' people were now wealthy and could hold wonderful plays on public squares. The directors of the plays were members of the clergy, but people of all different classes took part in the production. The number of actors ranged from two hundred to three hundred. The stage that was used was wooden and was elevated from the ground where the audience stood around to watch. A house stood as a background and a balcony, (that was connected to the house) represented Heaven. The mouth of a monster represented Hell. The actors all entered in a procession and took their places. All the actors were on stage all through the production, and they would stand to present their lines. It was all fairly simple; with simple costumes and scenery. As the sixteenth century rolled along, the passion plays of the fifteenth century started to lose their serious and yet humorous acting.


Essays Related to Passion Plays