Shakespeare and the Reinvention of the Court Masque

The Renaissance court masque was a lavish form of dramatic entertainment containing spoken verse and music that was performed by disguised members of the court. The genre truly began to flourish during the 16th and 17th centuries under the ruling of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. At the Stuart court, the masque developed and became a new genre from its previous incarnations. During this time, two of Shakespeare’s works, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest, merged the traditions of the masque forming a unique style of theatre that was neither pure masque nor play, but a blend of both. The use of court masque traditions in Shakespeare’s works created a social and political commentary during the reign of two influential rulers, which honors and critiques the royal tradition. Previously, critics have focused on the more prevalent elements of the court masque, such as the use of song, speech, poetry and mythological or allegorical characters, but these merely scratch the surface. Within The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare incorporates these elements in more subtle and thematic ways. By toying with the traditions of the genre, Shakespeare moves beyond convention and takes a subtle, yet effective approach to creative imitation. References to the court masque permeate his texts, but Shakespeare does not merely recycle these concepts; instead, these components become a driving force within the stories and social commentary. Using the conventions of the masque, Shakespeare transforms its pageantry into unique entities in Shakespeare’s works. As a result, the traditions of the masque are blended into the amalgam of theatrical spectacle, forming something new within Shakespeare’s works.No embarg