Elizabethan Masques

Characteristics of Elizabethan Masque 1 The form of entertainment known as Masques first became popular at the court of King Henry VIII, the father of Queen Elizabeth. And this form of Renaissance Upper class entertainment continued into the Elizabethan era. A Masque was a lavish, dramatic entertainment often spoken in verse, usually performed by masked, disguised players representing mythological or allegorical figures.

Characteristics 2 Elizabethan Masques were accompanied with music and dance at the beginning and end of the performances and during the interludes. Elizabethan Masques were performed at various festivals, celebrations such as Christmas, weddings and other revels. The Masques of the Renaissance fused music, dance, poetry and drama into one splendid entertainment. The disguised players in the Elizabethan masques were usually members of the Elizabethan court.

Queen Elizabeth and the Elizabethan Masques Queen Elizabeth was fond of making Royal progresses throughout England. She expected to stop at the great Elizabethan houses and palaces and to be entertained royally! Masques were often produced in her honour. The theme of the Kenilworth masque was male heroism and the vulnerability of women

Dramatists and Composers of Elizabethan Masques Leading Elizabethan Poets and Dramatists were employed to write the words and verses of the masques. But the most famous and important of all the Elizabethan dramatists was none other than William Shakespeare. The fantastic themes of the masques were included in many of the plays of William Shakespeare such a A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado about Nothing