(THE TEMPEST) - Importance of masque in the 'The Tempest.'

Importance of 'Masque'

The masque in the tempest has been critically interpreted in many ways. Initially it is supposed to represent the betrothal of Ferdinand and Miranda; but it ends up adding a lot of allegorical aspects of the play as a whole.

In Shakespeare's time court masks were much in vogue for the celebration of  feast days, betrothals and marriages. Within the play itself it is evident that the masque is especially written in celebration of the betrothal and future marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda and it gives to their happy wedding an allegorical setting.

In fact the subject as we see in the masque is purely allegorical and mythological in tone and temper. It may be reiterated that the masque in the play has been performed in honour of Ferdinand and Miranda. The characters are taken from classical mythology. Iris, the goddess of rainbow, Ceresis, the the goddess of agriculture, Juno, the patronex of the female sex, Venus, the goddess of beauty and Cupid, the god of love are all conspicuous by their presence in the masque. Both Ceres and Juno shower their blessings on the young lovers. There is music everywhere.

The masque gives a momentary vision of a world surcharged with the atmosphere of freedom and forgiveness. Prospero is "touch'd with anger" when he makes a transition from magic to reality. In fact the masque provides a bridge for the action of the play to move from the enchanted island back to the civilized Milan- visibly a sudden shift from the supernatural to the natural.

When critically considered, the masque certainly stands apart from the main action leading upto the union of the two houses- Milan and Naples as well as the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda, which is the central theme of the play. To sum up, the masque seems to emphasize again the dominance of the supernatural machinery of the play.