Masques developed and became very popular during the Elizabethan Era and Jacobean rule Era. Masques were nothing but theatrical entertainment performed by a group of artists. Masques included drama, dancing, music, and poetry and Arts. It was basically an indoor performance wherein the artists performed wearing a mask.
The actors played the role of mythological characters or figures. During the Jacobean period or Era, the emphasis was given on the narrative elements of the masques. King James I and his wife Queen, Anne of Denmark liked watching masques, and so many mosques were performed in the court of James I.
Jacobean Masques Facts
Unlike in theatrical plays where the audience is a mere spectator, in mosques, the audience participates in the masques at the end of the mosque. The royals, aristocrats, and members of the wealthy class were the audience for masques. It was thus a royal and personal form of entertainment.
The fact that members of the royal families performed along with the artists make masques a unique form of entertainment. Over the period of time masques as a form of entertainment developed and was later on also performed in public theatres.
About Jacobean Masques
Mr. Ben Jonson was also very popular for his masques. In fact, the most famous masques were a creation of Ben Jonson. He worked along with Inigo Jones, who designed beautiful sets for the masque artists to perform. It is said that Ben and Inigo worked in partnership for around 30 masques.
Ben Jonson’s popular masques were ‘Masque of Blackness’, ‘Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue’ and ‘Masque of Beauty’. A short masque was included by William Shakespeare in his famous plays titled ‘The Tempest’, ‘Henry VIII’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Masques like ‘Comus’ by John Milton were also well-received.
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