Masque

“ Ven. What, from a masque? Whereon grounds your wish?
Dor. Marry, my lord, upon experience.
I heard of one once brought his wife to a masque
As chaste as a cold night; but, poor unfortunate fellow,
He lost her in the throng; and she, poor soul,
Came home so crush'd next morning!
Ven. 'Las, that was ill:
But women will be lost against their will.
Ver. Silence, the masquers enter.
Enter Lodovico, Clown, and Masquers: a stag, a ram, a bull, and a goat.
Clown. Look to me, master.
Lod. Do not shake: they'll think th' art out. A masque [154] ——
Clown. ”

“ That’s all one, you shall play it in a mask.
There is a tradition that masks were worn by ladies attending the theatres in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This custom may have originated from the stage use of boys and men playing female parts, sometimes in masks. Very [Pg 358] little is known of the history of wearing masks, both in public and private performances. The above quotation proves that it would not be at all incongruous for an actor to play his part in a mask.
MASQUE.
What masques, what dances shall we have? ”

“ Celebrates the failure of the Spanish marriage and the return of Prince Charles. The antimasque of personified dishes accords with the more prosaic conception of Jonson's later masques. (23) ‘Pan's Anniversarie, or the Shepherd's Holy-day.’ Performed New Year, 1625; fol. 1631–40. (24) ‘The Masque of Owls, at Kenilworth.’ Presented by the Ghost of Captain Cox, mounted on his Hobby-horse, 1626; fol. 1631–40. The title shows the looseness with which the term masque was now used. It is merely a string of speeches. (25) ‘The Fortunate Isles and their Union.’ Performed Twelfth Night, 1626; 4to, n.d. ”

“ With many life is a masquerade ball, and as at such entertainments gentlemen and ladies put on the garb of kings and queens or mountebanks or clowns and at the close put off the disguise, so a great many pass their whole life in a mask, taking off the mask at death. ”

“ After the dialogue of presentation and the antimask, the maskers entered and began a series of 'masque dances' (Oberon; Love Freed) , 'changes' (Malecontent; Insatiate Countess) , or 'strains' (Hymenaei; Cynthia's Revels; A Woman is a Weathercock) . These are also called the 'single' dances, to distinguish them from the 'intermixed' dances (Blackness) or more usually and simply, the maskers 'own' dances or the 'new' dances. Sometimes the 'first' dance is distinguished from the 'main' dance (Twelve Months; Lords' Mask; Mercury Vindicated; Golden Age) . ”

“ I had taken off my mask, as it was very warm; he still kept his on, and talked in the same kind of voice he practised at the masquerade. He paid me most profuse compliments on the beauty of my dress, and, throwing his arms round my waist, congratulated himself on possessing such an angel, at the same time kissing my face and bosom with such a strange kind of eagerness as made me suppose he was intoxicated ”

“ A mask was fixed upon the effigy, or the lump of clay kneaded into human features, and horribly or delicately expressed, according to the benevolent art of the makers!—might not the same visor have been worn by a perfect gentleman, with considerable advantage, at a masquerade?—might not the clay nose and mouth of the loathsome traitor have borne an accidental likeness to the very pink of patriots? Let philosophy ponder well on Guy Fawkes. ”

“ It was a grand masquerade the bridegroom was giving.
But among the masquers was one who spoke to no{246}body; who took note of nobody; who moved along stealthily from group to group with a firm merciless tread. They who looked very closely at the mysterious masquer, noted that his hair was white, and that his eyes glittered fearfully below his mask. ”

“ He took up a revolver and balanced it on his palm.
By and by the proprietor came sidling along behind the cases, the slip-slip fashion of his approach informing me that he wore slippers.
"Do you keep costumes?" I asked.
"Anything you like, sir, from a crusader to a modern gentleman,"—with grim and appropriate irony. "What is it you are in search of—a masquerade costume?'"
"Only a grey mask," I answered. "I am going to a masked ball to-night as a Grey Capuchin, and I want a mask that will match my robe." ”

“ I made a tour of the room; twenty masks called me by name and told me theirs. These were all leaders—aristocrats and merchants—in the undignified disguise of pierrots, of postilions, of merry-andrews, or of fishwives. They were all young people of family, of culture, of talent ”

“ II. Masques, Barriers, Entertainments.—Jonson throughout distinguished three classes of festive performance, those of which the nucleus was a masqued dance, a mock tournament, and a speech respectively. The first is in his hands the most, the last the least akin to drama. His masques show development in range of motive and in the use made of contrast. ”

“ Maskes, Revelles, and Disguysings’) ; ‘masque’ is not English until the seventeenth century (Evans, xiii) . Skeat derives through the French masque, masquer, masquerer, and the Spanish mascara, mascarada (Ital. mascherata) from the Arabic maskharat, a buffoon or droll (root sakhira, ‘he ridiculed’) . ”

“ As for angels, it is not comical enough to put them in anti-masques; and anything that is hideous, as devils, giants, is on the other side as unfit. But chiefly, let the music of them be recreative, and with some strange changes. Some sweet odors suddenly coming forth, without any drops falling, are, in such a company as there is steam and heat, things of great pleasure and refreshment. Double masques, one of men, another of ladies, addeth state and variety. ”

“ Thus arose the primitive form of masques, in which men dressed themselves up to resemble various creatures, real or imaginary, as in the case of the animal masques of old time; for according to the popular idea the spirit dwells in the external, visible form, and through the imitation or adoption of its outward appearance we become identified with the spirit whose character we assume. ”

“ The grand suite of salons was thronged with masques, in every conceivable costume. There was not a single room deserted. Everyplace was animated with music voices, brilliant colors, flashing jewels, the hilarity of extemporized comedy, and all the spirited incidents of a cleverly sustained masquerade. ”

“ Catiline, Wks. 4. 212:
—so much, that kind May seek itself there, and not find.
2. 1. 162 French-masques. ‘Masks do not appear as ordinary articles of female costume in England previous to the reign of Queen Elizabeth.... French masks are alluded to by Ben Jonson in The Devil is an Ass. They were probably the half masks called in France ‘loups,’ whence the English term ‘loo masks.’ [162]
Loo masks and whole as wind do blow, And Miss abroad’s disposed to go. ”

“ A mask will enable me to substitute for the face of some common-place player, or for that face repainted to suit his own vulgar fancy, the fine invention of a sculptor, and to bring the audience close enough to the play to hear every inflection of the voice. A mask never seems but a dirty face, and no matter how close you go is still a work of art; nor shall we lose by staying the movement of the features, for deep feeling is expressed by a movement of the whole body. ”

“ Pshaw! a mask makes people but the more inquisitive, and is as ridiculous a disguise as a stage-beard: her shape, stature, habit will be known. And if we should meet with Horner, he would be sure to take acquaintance with us, must wish her joy, kiss her, talk to her, leer upon her, and the devil and all. No, I'll not use her to a mask, 'tis dangerous; for masks have made more cuckolds than the best faces that ever were known. ”

“ He has always worn twelve new masks every year, inasmuch as no mask can endure for many nights the near brightness of his face, before which even a mask of the best and purest silver soon tarnishes and wears away. ”

“ The mask of a tragic lady had all those signs of a genuine female in distress which are even to this day required on the stage, where long black hair, in terribly straightened circumstances, is the emblem of an anxious mind, which has long been a stranger to curl-papers. When insanity, as well as anguish, had to be represented by the mask, the hair was undivided in the centre, but floated in wild profusion, as if the wearer had gone through a great deal, and as if, whatever she had gone through, her hair had caught in the middle of. ”

“ Observation and experiment will guide you in the painting of the eyes, lips, brow, and hair, and also in the subtle violet shadows about the eyes, cheeks, and chin. Beware of timid lines that imitate nature. They say very little when the mask is a few feet away from you. Big, 166sweeping rhythmic lines make for design and carrying power, and are to be seen in all great masks. The inside of the mask should also be painted, decorated if you like, and shellacked when the oil paint is thoroughly dry. This prevents the breath from softening the papier-mâché. The outside must not be shellacked. ”

“ There he goes—trying to swagger as he pushes off through the crowd. They're all looking at me, those masks, like a lot of great birds without faces, horrid, rather! The little lady is looking up at me. I can just see the smile of her mouth underneath her white silk mask as she speaks—'Grazie inespressible, Sior Maschera Inglese!' I must be masked as well then—of course, she can guess I'm English. She's accidentally knocked off her mask! I say, such a beautiful roguish face! ”

“ In this City of Masks there are hundreds of men and women in whose veins the blood of a sound aristocracy flows. By choice or necessity they have donned the mask of obscurity. They tread the paths of oblivion. They toil, beg or steal to keep pace with circumstance. But the blood will not be denied. In the breast of each of these drifters throbs the pride of birth, in the soul of each flickers the unquenchable flame of caste. The mask is for the man outside, not for the man inside. ”

“ For occasions such as the New Year and April Fools’ Day the mask may express an individual idea or fancy. There are a few days, however, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, for which 153masks must be specially designed. These masks should represent the characters that one associates with the occasions. When a story is woven about these characters and then told in pantomime, by actors wearing masks, it may be called a mask. Music and dance add much to the beauty of a mask. ”

“ One especially caught her fancy as her preoccupied glance was held by it—a small egg of silver gilt, the front finely carved into the likeness of a mask, with smoothly banded hair and sleepy eyes and smiling lips.
"Like me!" she thought. "My face is but a mask gilt with smiles. ”

“ Little bunches of maskers, and single maskers danced and strutted along in the thick flow under the trees. If you are a mask you don't walk like a human being: you dance and prance along extraordinarily like the life-size marionettes, conducted by wires from above. ”

“ Occasions for Wearing the Mask We all know the thrill of wearing a mask, but an entirely new and strange thrill awaits him who wears a mask of his own creation. Anyone who has imagination is apt to turn away from the ordinary commercial mask, because his fancy can picture something much more clever and interesting.
When one looks at the calendar he is surprised to find that there are so many days that invite the wearing of masks. The first occasion for wearing a mask that comes to mind is Hallowe’en, that old celebration of the eve of All Saints’ Day. ”

“ Let us suppose that you wish to make a mask of a noble king. He probably would have a high forehead, a straight brow, a strong, firm chin, and a kindly mouth. Exaggerate the high forehead, the straight brow, the firm chin, and the kindliness of the mouth, and you will find that every one who sees your mask will be conscious of its nobility. Is your king young or old? If he is old, there will be hollows about his eyes, nose, and mouth, and his cheeks may be thin. If he is young, his flesh will be firm and there will be no drawn or sagging muscles. ”

“ The mask has, at all times, been the essential complement of the domino. In its ordinary form it consists of a stifle shape arranged to fit the face as far as the upper lip. Moulded to the nose, it is provided with slits for the eyes and nostrils, and fastened by means of a button and a narrow elastic band. Now and then it is edged with a frill of lace which conceals the chin and further enhances the disguise. Black satin and velvet are most frequently employed to cover this kind of mask, the latter, by the way, being far more becoming ”

“ W. W. Story, in writing of the life-mask of Washington, says of life-masks generally: “Indeed a mask from the living face, though it repeats exactly the true forms of the original, lacks the spirit and expression of the real person. But this is not always the case. The more mobile and variable the face, the more the mask loses; the more set and determined the character and expression, the more perfectly the work reproduces it.”
xvThe procedure of taking a mould of the living face is not pleasant to the subject. ”

“ From nearly every walk in life they came to this common, converging point, and sat them down with their equals, for the moment laying aside the mask to take up a long-discarded and perhaps despised reality. ”