GENRE STUDIES UNIT-IV The Masque

 

The Masque

            It was of Italian origin, and was introduced into England in the early years of 16^th Century. The earliest account of an English Masque occurs in Hall’s Chronicle for the year 1512 on the day of Epiphany at night, the King (Henry VIII) was disguised after the manner of Italy, called a Mask.

Features

1.       The characters are deities of classical mythology, nymphs and personified abstractions like Love, Delight, Harmony etc.

2.      The number of characters is restricted to six.

3.      The scenes are laid in ideal regions such as Olympus, Arcadia, the fortunate Isles.

4.      Dances of various kinds are introduced at appropriate places.

5.      The scenery and costumes are very elaborate.

Decline

            The Masques was a costly form of entertainment, designed either for presentation at court or to grace a festive occasion at a nobleman’s house. Often it was performed as a part of the celebrations at a wedding in a great family. The marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda in Shakespeare’s “Tempest” is celebrated with a Masque, as that of the Earl of Essex and Lady Frances Howard was in real life.

            Attention was paid to elaborate dresses and scenic affects, and less to literary qualities of the text, so that there was nothing to give such productions and permanence. For these reasons, the Masque had but a short period of glory and is now a historical curiosity.