The Masque of Blackness

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The Masque of Blackness was first performed at the court at Whitehall on Twelfth Night, 1605. It was written by Ben Jonson and later published by him. The masque was written by Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark who wished the masquers to be disguised as Africans. Anne was one of the performers in the masque along with her court ladies, and appeared in blackface makeup. The plot of the masque follows the ladies arriving at court to be "cleansed" of their blackness by King James I of England; a stage direction that was impossible to fulfill on stage. This is why it is theorized that the Masque of Beauty was written as a sequel to the Masque of Blackness, finally performed in 1608.

Importance

The Masque of Blackness is important due its effect in establishing Jonson as the premier masque writer for the court of King James I of England and Inigo Jones as the premier set designer. The masque was hugely expensive, and caused consternation amongst some English observers due to the perceived impropriety of the performance.

The texts of both the Masque of Blackness and the Masque of Beauty were published in quarto form in 1608 and in the Folio of 1616.

References

Jonson, Ben. The Masque of Blackness. 1608. In Ben Jonson: Complete Masques. Ed. Stephen Orgel. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969. pp. 61-74.

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