Masquerade ball

A masquerade ball (or bal masqué) is a special kind of formal ball which many participants attend in costume wearing masks. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tradition. A masquerade ball usually encompasses music and dancing. These nighttime events are used for entertainment and celebrations.^[1]

For the Axel Rudi Pell album, see The Masquerade Ball. For other uses, see Masked ball (disambiguation).

Masks[edit]

Masquerade masks were worn delicately by the prosperous class at balls. Masquerade masks had many uses including hiding one's identity, and using different colour to express one's freedom of speech and voice one's emotions and opinions without judgement.^[1] There were two types of base masquerade masks; black masks and white masks.^[7] Designs and patterns were created over the base that was chosen. The main types of masks included masks with a stick (which one could hold to keep the mask in front of their face), the head mask, the full-face mask, and the half face mask.^[7] Masquerade masks have been used in classics such as The Phantom of the Opera, Romeo and Juliet, Lone Ranger, and Gossip Girl. They are still used in many types of media today.^[8]

's short story "The Masque of the Red Death" is based at a masquerade ball in which a central figure turns out to be his costume.^[9]

Edgar Allan Poe

A ball in is featured in the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse.

Zürich

A masquerade ball is central to the plot of 's 1835 play Masquerade. The play was censored and never staged during Lermontov's lifetime, partly because of the implied criticism of the masquerade balls staged by the aristocratic Engelhardt family.

Mikhail Lermontov

The book, musical and most film adaptations of have a scene at a masked ball. The Phantom's (Erik's) costume is that of the Red Death from the aforementioned Edgar Allan Poe story The Masque of the Red Death.

The Phantom of the Opera

In the play by William Shakespeare, Romeo meets Juliet at a masquerade ball.

Romeo and Juliet

The video game has a mission called Lady Boyle's Last Party, taking place at a masquerade where the primary objective is discerning the identity of Lady Boyle, a masked party-goer.

Dishonored

The video game has a series of missions called Carnevale set during Venetian Carnival where the primary objective is to gain access to one of the more prestigious masquerade balls, ending in the mission which primarily takes place in the masquerade ball.

Assassin's Creed II

The video game features a mission set at a masquerade ball, on the Vegelbud estate, where the primary objective is to find the owner's son who is wearing a panther mask.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The picturesque quality of the masquerade ball has made it a favorite topic or setting in literature.