A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Masque

It is more a Masque than a drama. In it Shakespeare is more a poet than a dramatist. The plot is very simple; there is little or no development of character; there is very little portrayal of passion; nor is there much dramatic movement.

Elizabethan Masques A genre of entertainment developed in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. It involved poetry, music and elaborate sets, and reached its highest development in the court masques ofc and in the stage masques of the Restoration. It had its origins in the English disguising of the 15th century and its Italian counterparts, introduced to the English court by Henry VIII. The 16th-century court masque combined speech, songs and formal dances with ‘revels’, during which the masquers engaged in dancing, gallantry and intrigue with members of the audience

In some ways, masques and plays were very similar. Both involved costumes, scenery, and acting. However, there were some important differences. Plays were usually performed publicly in theaters and could be seen by anyone who paid. Masques were performed at court or in a palace in front of a smaller, private audience

Characteristics I A greater emphasis on situations than characters A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty, often presented by elders Separation and re-unification Multiple, intertwining plots

II Deception among characters (especially mistaken identity) A clever servant Tension between characters, often within a family

III Use of all styles of comedy Pastoral element Happy Ending, though this is a given,