Date of Award

2018

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Master's Paper

Degree Awarded

Master of Arts (MA)

Program

English

Department

English

College

Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Faculty Advisor

Graham-Bertolini, Alison

Description

Sabrina, the heroine of A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, is an exemplar of ethical, intellectual, and magical power. Although scholarship has focused on male characters in the masque, I argue that this story is about women who work in alliance, fight for autonomy over their own bodies, rebuke cultural expectations, and claim their identities. Sabrina rescues the Lady from the male villain Comus. She utilizes her intellectual and ethical agency to judge the Lady worthy, then uses her magical powers to undo Comus’ spell. Scholarship overlooks Sabrina’s distinct power in A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, but scholarship must evolve. Milton’s exceptional masque undermines prominent patriarchal values of the 17th century. While these male-centric values attempt to obscure female characters into supporting roles, Milton’s characterization of Sabrina is in stark juxtaposition. Sabrina, and powerful female characters like her, have been in Milton’s texts all along and demand our analysis.

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/28136

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