The Interlude of Youth

  The Interlude of Youth  is a morality play in verse dating from the early 16th century, that shows the development of a young man from a crude rogue into a serious member of society.  Although many plays dealing with morality  survive, this is among the best in this genre,  and was so popular it was reprinted multiple times over fifty years.  It is one of the most important pre-Shakespearean dramas.  It is associated with the early riotous years of the reign of Henry VIII, and was probably  first performed in the winter of 1513 to 1514 .     Morality plays were a dramatic genre common in England throughout the middle ages and early Tudor period.  They feature personified abstract qualities as characters, to show the universality of their messages.  For example. in   The Interlude of Youth , the characters have names such as Riot, Pride, and Lechery.  This play is one of the most entertaining of surviving morality pl...