antimask

A short, humorous antimask was performed between the acts of the play.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A comic interlude: In historical drama, particularly in masques of the 16th and 17th centuries, an "antimask" is a short, humorous, or grotesque performance inserted between the acts of a more serious masque, often featuring absurd characters or slapstick comedy. It served as a contrast to the main, allegorical masque.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The antimask provided comic relief for the audience before the solemn masque resumed. (A humorous interlude in a dramatic performance.)
  • In Ben Jonson's masques, the antimask often featured clowns and grotesque figures. (A specific type of comic scene in historical theatre.)

Advanced Usage

• "antimask as contrast": The antimask deliberately uses low comedy or disorder to highlight the elegance and order of the main masque.
  • The playwright employed an antimask of drunken peasants to underscore the nobility of the courtly masque. (A contrasting comic scene.)

Variants and Related Words

• Antimasque (n): an alternative spelling of "antimask", used interchangeably in historical contexts.

  • The antimasque was performed by professional actors rather than courtiers. (A variant form of the same term.)

• Masque (n): the main dramatic performance, often allegorical and musical, into which the antimask was inserted.

  • The masque celebrated the king's coronation, while the antimask mocked courtly pretensions. (The primary performance contrasted with the comic interlude.)

Synonyms

• Interlude: a short, humorous performance within a longer work.
• Comic relief: a moment of levity in a serious drama.

Related Idioms

• "Play the antimask": (historical) to perform in or present a comic interlude in a masque.
  • The court jester was asked to play the antimask for the queen's entertainment. (To act in the humorous segment.)