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In 16th- and 17th-century England, the aristocracy regularly hosted so-called "masques". These entertainments were lavish spectacles: they included music, dancing, dramatic performances, expensive costumes and elaborate stage machinery. Masques resembled theatre plays, but with several important differences: masques were meant to be staged only once, the most important roles were played by the highest-ranking members of the court, and the audience was made up of the political elite of the country. In that, masques served a political function – a means to display the wealth and power of the monarchy. Today, the masque is a neglected genre in English literature – all the more reason to explore it.
In this seminar, we are going to engage in close readings of several masques (they tend to be rather short), discuss attitudes to race and gender revealed in them, listen to music composed for them, and much more. A reader for this course will be available at the beginning of the semester. |
