The play Everyman is a perfect representation of public literature from the Renaissance period. The anonymous author reveals through the morality play that 'everyman' should be prepared for judgment at any time because, "Suddenly, [Death] come[s]." (Scene 1, Line 81) This, as with all allegorical works of that period, was constructed under the direction of the Roman Catholic Church to strike fear in to the hearts of men and, in doing so, have power over them. The church succeeded by censoring all works and designing them to fit their purpose.

The structure of literary works of the Renaissance period was designed for easy comprehension for the masses. The average person of the Renaissance did not know how to read and had not had any proper education. For easy interpretation, characters in plays and oral stories were named allegorically after what they symbolized. For example, in Everyman, the main character's...