(F) THE FARCE . (G)THE MASQUE ~ Literary Hunt

(F) The Farce

It is a crude form of comedy that creates Norse laughter among the spectators. It is generally an episode inserted within a full play either to relieve tragic tension or to please the lower class of the spectators. It makes no appeal to the mind or heart of the audience; it only tickles their eyes and ears. Therefore, the characters make the spectator laugh with ludicrous situations, free use of verbal humour and impersonations. They often play hide and seek game from angry wives, husbands or creditors, etc.

These episodes were quite popular in the Elizabethan Age to please the groundings. Even George Bernard Shaw, Shakespeare, and Marlowe have inserted farcical scenes in their plays. So, The Farce makes no artistic or aesthetic appeal, but it has its own importance in its own way.

Sn.no	Dramatists	Farce
1	Shakespeare	A Midsummer Night's Dream; Merry Wives of Windsor; The Taming of the Shrew
2	Christopher Marlowe	Dr. Faustus
3	Brandon Thomas	Charley's Aunt
4	Charles Hawtrey	The Private Secretary
5	G.B Shaw	Arms and the Man; Androcles and the Lion

(G) The Masque

It was a Royal theatrical entertainment with a highly splendid spectacular scenic effect accompanied by music and dance. It has a combination of music, song, dance, poetic drama, gorgeous costume and stage effect. The plot-often slight and mainly mythological and allegorical- served to hold together these diverse elements. Thus, it was a medley of music, elaborate scenic effects, and dancing, woven around a fairy tale, myth, or allegory. The characters were often personifications of love, delight, harmony, etc. The scenes were laid in ideal regions, such as Olympus, Arcadia, the Fortunate Isles, and so on. It was of Italian origin and came to England in the early years of the 16th century. It flourished in England during the reigns of Elizabeth. Often, it was performed as part of the celebrations at a wedding in a great family. Modern ballet is something like the old Masque, with the additional attractions of beautiful speeches and songs.

Sn.no	Dramatists	Masque
1	Thomas Campion and Francis	The Lord's Masque; The Masque of Proteus
2	Samuel Daniel	The vision of the Twelve Goddesses
3	Francis Beaumont	The Masque of Flowers
4	John Milton	Cosmus
5	Ben Jonson	The Masque of Queen; Masque of Blackness; Love Freed From Ignorance; Oberon the Fair Prince; Love Restored; Hymenaei; The Masque of Gypsies; The Masque of Christmas; The Fortunate Isles
6	Shakespeare	A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Tempest; The Winter's Tale.

OBJECTIVE TYPE OF QUESTIONS

1. ....... wrote the farcical play 'Androcles and the Lion'?

(a) Richard Steele

(b) George Bernard Shaw

(d) Oliver Goldsmith

2.Name the masque written by John Milton :

(a) Hymenaeus

(b) Tethys Festival

(d) Chloride

3.A farce is

(a) A tragedy of unsuccessful. love affair

(b) A theatrical company

(d) A comedy that causes boisterous laughter

4.The main objective of a farce in a play was to please :

(a) The courtiers

(b) The lower class of the spectators

(d) The upper-middle-class of the spectators

5. Which of the following plays of Shakespeare has a farcical scene?

(a) The Taming of the Shrew

(b) As You Like It

(d) All is Well That Ends Well

6.Which famous play of Bernard Shaw has a farcical scene?

(a) Widowers' House

(b) The Apple Cart

(d) Caesar and Cleopatra

7.One of the following plays is written by a Duke. Identify the Duke :

(a) The Duke of Buckingham

(b) The Duke of Worchester

(d) The Duke of York

8.The theme of Comus is borrowed from :

(a) Ulysses

(b) Aeneid

(d) Illiad

9.Which character in A Midsummer Night's Dream Plays the Farcical scene?

(a) An unknown character wearing a mask

(b) Bottom

(d) Titania

1o.There is a masque in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale". Identify the dancers in that masquè :
(a) Lords and Ladies
(b) Fairies and sylphs
(c) Fauns and Satyrs
(d) The Spectators

11.Which of the following masques is not written by Ben Jonson ?
(a) The Masque of Christmas
(b) The Lord's Masque
(c) Love Freed From Ignorance
(d) Oberson the Fairy Prince

12.Identify the character in A Midsummer Night's Dream who appears in the farcical scene :
(a) Oberon
(b) Titania
(c) Bottom
(d) Puck

13.Who has written the maximum number of masques (eleven) in English ?
(a) Shakespeare
(b) Ben Jonson
(c) Sımuel Daniel
(d) Hall

14.Which occasion is celebrated with a masque in "The Tempest':
(a) The Wedding of Ariel with a Nymph
(b) The safe landing of Prospero's ship on the island
(c) The Wedding of Ferdinand and Miranda
(d) The Crowning of Prospero

15.Which of the following masques is not written by Shakespeare ?
(a) Comus
(b) A Midsummer Night's Dream
(c) The Tempest
(d) The Winer's Tale

16.Which is belived to be the earliest Masque written in English :
(a) Ben Jonson's Masque of Queens
(b) Campion's The Lord's Masque
(c)Masque in Hall's chronicle
(d) Daniel's vision of the Twelve Goddesses
is the author of the Masque

17. .......... is the author of the Masque of Blackness :
(a) Francis Beaumont
(b) Samuel Daniel
(c) Ben Jonson

(d) Hall

18.Milton borrowed the theme for comus from:
(a) Homer's Odyssey
(b) Virgil's Aeneid
(c) Spencer's Faerie Queene
(d) Homer's Illiad

19. ............ is the greatest writer of Masque in English:
(a) Daniel
(b) Milton
(c) Ben Jonson
(d) Shakespeare

(F) THE FARCE . (G)THE MASQUE

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