Elements of Masque In The Tempest Discuss the elements of Masque present in The Tempest and the extent to which the play might be considered to be a Masque. The Tempest was written in the earrly Stuart period in England when masques were becoming exceedingly popular, and were often performed at weddings to honour marriages. The Tempest is heavily influenced by elements of the masque, and can be performed with the same purposes as one, although it is far too rich to be classified simply into that genre of plays. In masques the use of spectacle was extensive. The Tempest reflects this in many ways. The very first scene, Act I scene i, is that of a ship in