Racial Superiority
The major conflict in The Masque of Blackness is the desire of the black-skinned daughters of Niger to erase their blackness and become white. It is generally assumed throughout the performance that whiteness is more attractive than blackness, a view even held by the Ethiopians. What is today understood as overt racism, was, in early modern England, a widely accepted means of structuring society. In fact, even among Englishmen, dark features like brown hair or brown eyes were considered less attractive than fair-skinned, blue-eyed people. It is important to note that "race" in early modern England was less about skin color and more about blood, as one's lineage was what determined their place in society.
The Magnificence of Britain
Britannia comes to light as the magical land of healing that the daughters of Niger have been seeking all along. The moon goddess, Aethiopia, spends multiple paragraphs praising Britain's greatness, calling it "a world divided from the world" as well as the diamond on the ring of the world. In this way, Britain – and more specifically, England – is portrayed as the culmination of centuries of civilization, suggesting that Britain is superior to all other nations. This would have been an important mindset to cultivate at a time when England was engaging in colonization around the world.
Flattery of King James I
This play was commissioned by Anne of Denmark, the queen consort of King James I, for the celebration of Twelfth Night for the court of Whitehall Palace. It was performed for the king himself, and the dialogue's flattery of him is almost comical in its impressive dedication. King James is described as the "sun" of Britannia, possessing such brilliant radiance that he is able to purge the blackness from the daughters of the river god. This type of flattery was conventional for masques, which traditionally used short narratives as a means of elevating the monarch for which they were written.
King James I's Political Policies
When discussing The Masque of Blackness, most scholars tend to focus on the problematic portrayal of race in the play. Indeed, there is no debating the extent to which the play relies on racist tropes throughout its short performance. However, some scholars have pointed out a crucial detail about the end of the play, when the daughters of Niger are told that in order to purge their dark skin and turn white, they must regularly bathe themselves in sea-dew before visiting the King of Britannia. Some argue that this means of transformation is notably mild and benign (compared to a violent purge) and that this ending therefore reflects King James I's relatively benevolent policies toward the continent of Africa.
British Identity
While The Masque of Blackness features characters from Ethiopia who wish to turn themselves white, the history of the masque's composition suggests that it was written to address a growing and more diverse English society. When King James I assumed the throne in 1603, he, being Scottish, wanted to unite the kingdoms of England and Scotland. This decision was formally debated in what is now known as the Jacobean debate on the Union. Many were concerned about the changing English population if the two kingdoms were united – because, as mentioned, blood was more important to early moderns than skin color, and co-mingling of Scottish and English blood would, in the eyes of many, taint the superiority of the English race. Some critics maintain that this masque was a response to these debates and the notion of a diversified but united kingdom.
Antiquity
The Masque of Blackness stands apart from many of Ben Jonson's other plays because of its subject matter, context, and reliance on images from antiquity. Jonson is best known for inventing the city comedy, or comedy plays that focus on everyday Londoners and realistic plots. Here, however, his characters are figures from ancient Greek and Roman mythology, and no Englishmen appear in the play except for the allusion to the "sun" of Britannia, or King James I. This shift to a more antiquated context in the masque is significant because it makes the subtle argument that King James I is the natural continuation of the rich social, cultural, and religious history that gave rise to early modern England.
Colonization
English colonization began at about the same time King James I assumed the throne. It is therefore no surprise that The Masque of Blackness presents inhabitants of another nation who seek the power of the English king. The entire masque can be interpreted as a metaphor for exploration and colonization, in which foreign people were subjected to English political and social mores. Here, this subjection is framed as redemptive, and in many ways King James I is portrayed as a Christ-like figure who "saves" the daughters of Niger from their unhappy fate as ugly, dark-skinned women. The masque is a clear defense of colonization as testament to the greatness of the king and the superiority of England as a global power.
