Comus in Canaan: Milton's Masque and the Rape of Dinah

Abstract

abstract:This article presents a new argument about the origins of A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle. While criticism has long held that A Mask does not derive from any single source, at its core lies a specific biblical narrative: Genesis 34, the story of the rape of Dinah. Reading A Mask alongside Milton's outlines in the Trinity Manuscript for a drama based on Genesis 34, as well as Reformation commentaries on Genesis by Luther and Calvin, this article argues that their alignment has significant implications for our understanding of A Mask and Milton's early poetics.