Abstract:
In 1606, Sir John Harington attended the masque Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba presented before King James
I of England and King Christian IV of Denmark. In The
Illusion of Power: Political Theater in the English
Renaissance, Stephen Orgel writes that when a monarch
danced in a masque, 'a deep truth about the monarchy
was realized and embodied in action, and the monarchs
were revealed in roles that expressed the strongest
Renaissance beliefs about the nature of kingship, the
obligations and perquisites of royalty.' (Ref. 1) However,
at the masque of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,
'most of the presenters went backward, or fell down,
wine did so occupy their upper chambers,' and when
the King 'got up, and woud dance with the Queen of
Sheba... he fell down and humbled himself before her,
and was carried to an inner chamber and laid on a bed
of state...' (Ref. 2)
Stephen
Orgel's explanation highlights the power dynamics inherent
in the structure and presentation of the masque and
agrees with masque writers' explanation of their texts,
but it fails to encompass the more raucous descriptions
of masques and dancing recorded by contemporary viewers
and participants. A king's falling down drunk at a
court masque was unlikely to reveal the deeply held
Renaissance beliefs about monarchy that the original
script might have conveyed. This paper will focus on
the disparities between theories and practices of dancing
in the court masque in early modern England. It will
also attempt to counter the current trend in masque
scholarship that explores political subtexts but ignores
the revelry central to the court masque and similar
entertainments.
References:
1.
S. Orgel, The Illusion of Power: Political Theater
in the English Renaissance (1975), p. 38.
2. M. S. Steele, Plays & Masques at Court during
the Reigns of Elizabeth, James and Charles (1926,
1968), p. 151.