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Created page with "'''Masques''' were a form of dramatic entertainment, of Italian origin that found their most spectacular form in court and manor in England from the late 16th cent..."
'''Masques''' were a form of dramatic entertainment, of [[Italy|Italian]] origin that found their most spectacular form in court and manor in [[England]] from the late 16th century to the middle of the 17th, when most public entertainments were banned by the [[Puritan]] Commonwealth.
They were a mixture of [[music]] and [[dance]], costume and setting – usually extremely extravagant – where plot was hardly evident and character usually disguised behind masks. The settings were spectacular and the engines required for their effectiveness often ingenious. The great English architect [[Inigo Jones]] was as well known for a time for his stage designs as his buildings.
The masque found its highest form in works by [[Ben Jonson]] and [[Milton]], however the greatness of their literary genius began transforming the masque into what would better described as [[pastoral]] [[drama]].
Tastes changed in [[English Restoration|Restoration]] period, when productions became more dramatic (or farcical, or bawdy or all three) before [[opera]] became the favourite entertainment of the rich and powerful. The name existed into the 18th century but the form had changed.
[[Category: English history]]
[[Category: music]]
[[Category: Entertainment]]
[[Category:Literature]]
They were a mixture of [[music]] and [[dance]], costume and setting – usually extremely extravagant – where plot was hardly evident and character usually disguised behind masks. The settings were spectacular and the engines required for their effectiveness often ingenious. The great English architect [[Inigo Jones]] was as well known for a time for his stage designs as his buildings.
The masque found its highest form in works by [[Ben Jonson]] and [[Milton]], however the greatness of their literary genius began transforming the masque into what would better described as [[pastoral]] [[drama]].
Tastes changed in [[English Restoration|Restoration]] period, when productions became more dramatic (or farcical, or bawdy or all three) before [[opera]] became the favourite entertainment of the rich and powerful. The name existed into the 18th century but the form had changed.
[[Category: English history]]
[[Category: music]]
[[Category: Entertainment]]
[[Category:Literature]]