morality play

noun

1. an allegorical form of the drama current from the 14th to 16th centuries and employing such personified abstractions as Virtue, Vice, Greed, Gluttony, etc.

morality play

noun

1. a type of drama written between the 14th and 16th centuries concerned with the conflict between personified virtues and vices

Word History and Origins

Origin of morality play¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

It’s a work of pageantry, inspired in part by Hull’s fascination with medieval morality plays, specifically the story of “Everyman,” an examination of self and of our relationship to a higher power.

From Los Angeles Times

In December, paparazzi captured her in a bikini, and the online commentariat did what it always does: spun a woman’s changing body into a morality play.

From Salon

The Episcopal Church courageously refused to play its assigned role in what is essentially a Trump-produced white supremacist morality play.

From Salon

It can now represent a librarian, adjunct professor or social worker, all of whom make little more than McDonald’s wages, but are the cultural villains of the great Republican morality play.

From Salon

Maybe it’s for the better — but you’ve been missing out on an unlikely morality play about who makes it and who doesn’t in the eternal heartbreak that is Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times