Magnyfycence

poem by Skelton

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July 16, 2026

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Magnificence is a secular morality play written by John Skelton around 1516. Morality plays were allegorical dramas popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, where characters personified moral qualities or abstractions to teach moral lessons. Skelton's play uses this form to offer a political satire.12

Skeltonics, the poetic style Skelton often employed, are characterized by short, rhyming lines based on natural speech rhythms, often used for satire and protest. Magnificence likely reflects the darker worldview of the time, with themes of good versus evil and the transitory nature of life, common in morality plays.134

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John Skelton
…secular morality play in English, Magnyfycence, a political satire, followed by The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummynge, a portrayal of a drunken woman in an alehouse, which, though popular, contributed largely to Skelton’s later reputation as a “beastly” poet. His three major political and clerical satires, Speke Parrot (written 1521), Collyn…
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…secular morality play in English, Magnyfycence, a political satire, followed by The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummynge, a portrayal of a drunken woman in an alehouse, which, though popular, contributed largely to Skelton’s later reputation as a “beastly” poet. His three major political and clerical satires, Speke Parrot (written 1521), Collyn…
Read More