This collection investigates the cultural and political functions of the court masque as a primary instrument of royal propaganda and artistic expression during the Jacobean and Caroline eras. David Lindley, a scholar of early modern literature, provides a curated selection of texts that illustrate how these elaborate performances served to reinforce the authority of the Stuart monarchy. By analyzing the interplay between spectacle, music, and verse, the text argues that these entertainments were central to the identity and public image of the early 17th-century court.

Scholars and students of early modern drama frequently cite this volume as a standard resource for accessing the primary texts of the masque tradition. The editorial apparatus is widely regarded as helpful for navigating the dense allegorical language characteristic of the period.