| The World and the Child | |
|---|---|
 Frontispiece to the 1522 edition | |
| Written by | Unknown |
| Characters | Mundus, the world Infans, the child Wanton Lust and Liking Manhood Conscience Folly Perseverance Age |
| Date premiered | 1508 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Morality play |
The World and the Child (Latin: Mundus et Infans) is an anonymous English morality play. Its source is a late 14th-century or 15th-century poem The Mirror of the Periods of Man's Life, from which the play borrows significantly while reducing the number of characters.[1] It is thought to have influenced William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.
- ^ Lester (1981, xix-xx) and MacCracken (1908, 486-496).