Elizabethan Masquerade History

The people who lived during the Elizabethan Era were not allowed to wear whatever they like or desired. Their Fashion choices had to be followed by a strict law! The English people chose to establish social classes by the colors they wore and this had an affect on costumes used in theatre. Queen Elizabeth I followed the sumptuary laws, which was only certain classes were consent to wear specific fabric and colors. Therefore in plays the actors could only wear certain colors for their costumes that displayed what role and class their character was in. The clothes worn during this era was a result of Queen Elizabeth’s sumptuary laws, which had an affect on costumes used in plays, and each color a person wore had a significant meaning.

The Masquerade balls from the 15th to 18th Centuries were affairs in which nobility would wear masks, sometimes making it all a grand game to see if they could identify one another. Moreover, it is interesting to note that with the Dionysius cult and Greek bacchanalia, regulated, strict behaviours did not apply. Commoner and nobles alike participated in revelry as they do today. After the 18th century, Masquerade Balls fell out of favour until the 1990’s when they reappeared on the social scene to include more informal affairs. Office parties, theme nights at clubs, with fund raising becoming reasons for putting on historical clothes, or a modern outfit with a mask that was as elaborate as the wearer wished to be, and enjoy the evening out regardless of race and social status.

When first choosing this topic, I actually expected to research masks. Well much to my surprise this is a totally different topic and heightened my interest. As it turns out, masques are a different form of entertainment that took place during the 16th and 17th Century in England. Basically, it was a form of courtly entertainment that consisted of song, music, dance, and acting out a story. It was held complimentary to the noble or royal host at a social gathering. Masques mainly consisted of a band of masked people that would dance and converse with guests. Also they would offer gifts to the host and then join them for a ceremonial dance. Sometimes it could just be a simple procession in which guest are introduced but then an elaborate staged show is

Have you ever wondered what people in the Elizabethan Era wore? Fashion was just as important in those days as it is to some people today. What people were wearing mattered to others, and even the government. During the Elizabethan Era clothing, accessories, and cosmetics were all a part of daily life.

Over the past several decades there has been a change in masquerade costumes worn during Trinidad’s pre-Lenten Carnival (hereby referred to as Carnival). The growing global popularity of Carnival has left many concerned that the modern costume, consisting of bikinis, beads and feathers will continue to dominate and lead to the disappearance of Carnival’s “traditional” meanings and creativity. The emergence of Independent Mas reflects the growing desire for an alternative to the bikini and beads mas-bands; one such band, Vulgar Fraction, is arguably more “traditional” in their

The Elizabethan time period emphasized the dominance of men in society and family ties. Women had no choice but to depend on their families and the man the family picked for them to marry. All the money comes from the husbands income. Family was essential to Elizabethan time, because everyone in the household depended on one another. Men and women both could not function without their immediate family.

The Masquerade Ball is one of the most interesting symbols in the text. Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” is invoked as the novel’s epigraph, so the mask motif is therefore emphasized. At the end of the novel, the Overlook is seen unmasked, and so is the Torrance family, except Jack, who cannot take his mask of. However, he is not aware of this. His real self comes to surface, the self that he was trying to suppress all through his life. It is the mask of violence which can be originated from his childhood. (Shmoop Editorial Team,

Fashion is a big part of many people's lives, but it is constantly changing and growing. In the Elizabethan time fashion was very different than it is today. For example trends and materials used have changed. The colors people wore told a lot about who they were, unlike today. Some parts of fashion have stayed pretty constant throughout the years. For example today and then there are known designers around the world. Also fashion still impacts lives greatly. So when looking at fashion throughout the years it is evident that materials, trends, color usage, designers, and the impact on society has greatly changed and is still changing.

Ever wonder where the strange fashion choices of society’s favorite Disney movies originated? It might be a bit of an understatement to say that the apparel of men during the Elizabethan Era was odd, but each piece of their outfit had a crucial role to play in their daily life. Clothing worn during the Elizabethan Era was greatly dictated by the Sumptuary Laws, the wealth of the individual, and fashion trend of neighboring countries.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to three, quoted by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. Never has this been so true in the two films Taming of the shrew and 10 things I hate about you. Femininity has changed dramatically between the elizabethan era and today's era this change is displayed greatly in both tammy of the shrew and 10 things i hate about you. Today the women of the world are not known to up hold the man to be the lord of the house and to obey by his word but to show respect to the man of the house as the man is to show the same amount of respect or even more to the women of the house. In today's world both the man and women are both as equal in the way that they share the

Woman who were from the higher class had different clothing in the Renaissance era which has changed across the years, whether with time or influence . Clothing was powerful as they were used to represent your social class. Each one of the social classes had certain things that they were allowed to wear (different in each class). One of the fashion icon during the renaissance was Queen Elizabeth I. She possessed a large amount of influence on fashion as well as the people.

While Europeans in the Elizabethan Era were over the top and elaborate in many ways, marriage was not one of them. Regarded as a rite of passage, marriage lacked the festivities and passion to make it any more than what it was: a social requirement. From the extensive marriage contract process to the obvious pressure from their parents, youth hardly considered marriage lightly. After all, choosing the wrong spouse, or even choosing to not marry at all, could negatively impact one’s future severely. For the majority of the population, marriage was an expectation for means of improvement, not for love. Forget finding oneself infatuated with someone then marrying them or feeling like a goddess on your wedding day, because marriage was common, anticipated and carried out by reasons of sensibility. Even a bride’s wedding dress was chosen for practicality and eventually turned into part of her everyday wardrobe.

Because of all the little knowledge in the Elizabethan Era, daily lives were impacted, people turned to unusual medical theories which also impacted their everyday lives, and turning points in medicine occur. Little was known about how to treat serious diseases. People turned to different ways to cure themselves based on the kind of sickness they had acquired.

Copernicus, Galileo, and William Gilbert are all big names, but they were scientists or philosophers who lived during the Elizabethan Era. There were many more and the all observed the world around them and made studies based on those observations. Subjects varied on what they studied but it all came back to the view of how the world around them worked. They made many amazing discoveries that has impacted the world today. There were many views and discoveries of the world during the Elizabethan Era, though each had an impact on the modern world.

In Shakespeare's plays Twelfth Night and As You Like It both of the lead female characters dress as men. Both plays are comedies and the change in gender is used as a joke, but I think it goes much deeper. A woman can become a man, but only if it is not permanent. The affect of the change cannot be too great because she must change back to female once everything is settled. They are strong female characters, but must become men to protect themselves and ultimately solve the problem of the play. In the book Desire and Anxiety: The Circulation of Sexuality in Shakespearian Drama Valerie Traub calls the characters, "the crossed-dressed heroine who elicits and enjoys