Masques of Difference: Four court masques by Ben Jonson

by Ben Jonson, Kristen McDermott (Editor)

Masques of difference presents an annotated edition of four seventeenth-century entertainments written by Ben Jonson for the court of James I. These masques reflect both the confidence and the anxieties of the English aristocracy at a time when notions of monarchy, empire, and national identity were being radically redefined. All four masques reflect the royal court’s self-representation as moral, orderly, and just, in contrast to stylised images of chaotically (and exotically) 'othered' groups: Africans, the Irish, witches, and the homoeroticised figure of the Gypsy.

This edition presents two masques that have received recent attention in the classroom - The Masque of Blackness and The Masque of Queens - and two that have never before been anthologised for the student reader - The Irish Masque at Court and The Masque of the Gypsies Metamorphosed. This anthology offers students the latest in scholarship and critical theory and essential clues for understanding the ideologies that shaped many of the modern structures of English culture.

Genres: Classics, Plays, School

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems. A man of vast reading and a seemingly insatiable appetite for controversy, Jonson had an unparalleled breadth of influence on Jacobean and Caroline playwrights and poets. A house in Dulwich College is named after him.

See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson

Reviews

[Vanne]

As we had to read this book for college we got to hear a lot of background information which made it easier to understand the plays in context. The masques in this book, as well as the introduction, offer a good start for those interested in masques and the Jacobean Period. However, I can understand that the texts alone might be a bit of a dry/tough read for some. It is hard to imagine that such performances could take all night and were used for political purposes as well, but once you know this the texts become much more interesting. Keep in mind that the masques in this books are presented as texts, and in reality were much more than that. For a book about this topic, offering the scripts of four different masques by Jonson, it is a good source especially for students and for courses about this period.

[Kristen McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the author of this book.

[Emma McDonald]

Something said in my class: “is this oversexualized for a good reason or is Ben Jonson just a pedo”

[Onur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating for Kristen McDermott's introduction.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the fairly thorough introduction to this book stresses, masques are difficult to consume and understand as mere textual objects. Singing and dancing, as well as the political maneuverings of the performing courtiers, were perhaps even more important than Jonson's poetry. The most interesting thing about masques - I think - is how difficult, impossible really, it is to locate a stable object or truth to analyze. But while I find that larger discussion fascinating, I'm just not a huge fan of masques themselves.

[Toia Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just don't like the form. I don't think it is really something you can appreciate fully by reading it. At least I couldn't.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read all but "The Masque of Queens."