A MASQUE FOR ELIZABETH
THE MASQUE OF HOPE. Presented for the entertainment of H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth on the occasion of her visit to University College, May 25, 1948, by the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press. Not since 1636 had a Royal visit to Oxford been marked with play" or Masque written for the occasion, so when the O.U.D.S. decided to pay Princess Elizabeth this compliment, they must have been stimulated by the thought that they were presenting to a modern audience something very old but outside its experience. Judging by the book of words, which igs admirably printed and illustrated, the result was a success. Staged in a quadrangle of University College, in the Oxford that still whispers from its towers the encKhantments of the Middle Ages, the Masque was a forthright and humorous allegory of present-day English problems. The chief protagonists were Hope and Fear, with offspring on one side, Joy, Liberty, Health, and Labour, and on the other, Gloom, Tyranny, Pestilence and Want. Of all Fear’s lands, his "favourite and pet is England, blitzed and starving and in debt." Tyranny was _ his eldest child, and it was a nice touch to present him, not as a tightlipped uniformed Dictator, but in a "modest bowler hat," the badge of the bureaucrat. Among other’ characters were Knowledge, Rumour, Young Sterling, and Black Market. After argument and exchange of blows, Venus and Neptune and Hymen appeared, and Clio, the Muse of History, recalled the days of Queen Elizabeth in a panegyric written strictly in the courtly tradition.
Finally St. George rode in and addressed Princess Elizabeth as a pattern to. all Princes and a promise to her country of all things good; and then all the bells of Oxford rang. There is no reason to doubt that the Princess enjoyed the fun, but one wonders how she felt during the final speeches. Poor lady; like all Royalty, she has a vast amount of expectation to live up to.
A.
M.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19490218.2.25.2
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 504, 18 February 1949, Page 12
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333A MASQUE FOR ELIZABETH New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 504, 18 February 1949, Page 12
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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