Five Down Three To Go

So I just finished and submitted my fifth essay (which, if you're interested can be found on my MobileMe public page - directions can be found in a blog post or two back entitled "Essays"). This time I had to write about how the Stuart court masque (a type of theatrical performance more or less) used visual arts, poetry and music to depict the political aspirations of the dynasty. I ended up writing about three specific masques. I also discussed Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones, two very important masque authors. Yet before I could do that I had to define the political aspirations of the Stuart court (I focused on Charles I) and define a masque. I only used one image this week, a van Dyck portrait I saw when I went to Tate Britain. Unfortunately the only image of it online is rather crappy, the painting itself is great, the image below does not do it justice. Next week I'll be studying "collecting at the global court."