Comus (also known as Comus: A masque and The Masque of Comus and The Masque at Ludlow) is a masque in celebration of chastity, written by John Milton and first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before the Earl of Bridgewater at Ludlow Castle. Its proper title is A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle 1634: on Michelmas night, before the right honorable John, Earl of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackley, Lord President of Wales, and one of His Majesty's most honorable privy council. Costume for a Knight, by Inigo Jones: the plumed helmet, the heroic torso in armour and other conventions were still employed for opera seria in the 18th century. ... John Milton, English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608 – November 8, 1674) was an English poet, best-known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. ... Michaelmas (pronounced ) or the Feast of Ss. ... Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... The title Earl of Bridgewater has been created twice in the Peerage of England. ... Ludlow Castles gatehouse Ludlow Castle is a large, now ruined castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. ...

The plot concerns two brothers and their sister lost in the wood. The sister becomes fatigued, and the brothers wander off in search of sustenance. The sister is besieged by Comus, the god of mockery, brought to his magical palace, and is rescued from his seductions by The Attendant Spirit, who is conjured by her own virtue. In Greek mythology, Comus or Komus is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. ...

The music, in a baroque style, was composed by Henry Lawes, who also played the part of The Attendant Spirit. Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In the arts, Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the artistic style that dominated it. ... Henry Lawes (December 5, 1595 - October 21, 1662) was an English musician and composer. ...

Poetically, the composition is not to be confused with a play. Masques were not dramas, and the whole could be seen as a step toward the later recitative of opera. Recitative, a form of composition often used in operas, oratorios, cantatas and similar works, is described as a melodic speech set to music, or a descriptive narrative song in which the music follows the words. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...