Final Essay

Long before Milton published Paradise Lost, Milton wrote and released A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle. In this playwright, there is a constant battle between the divine Attendant Spirit and the deviant Comus. Therefore, throughout the text there is an ongoing conflict between powers of good and powers of evil, both racing to appeal to the innocent Lady. However, the Attendant Spirit and Comus are not the only spiritual beings in the play; the water-nymph Sabrina also plays a role in the power struggle. The appearance of the water nymph in the night challenges the association between the night and the two influences of good and evil. From the beginning of the play, night is associated with forces of evil. Comus, described to be “deep skilled

The second brother, strikingly, exclaims “of night or loneliness it recks me not/ I fear the dread events that dog them both” (Milton, 404-405). The second brother therefore makes it clear that it is not night itself that is evil, rather it is the evil associated with the night that is of concern. However, the night indirectly becomes a cause of concern due to the wicked events that take place in it. The elder brother, although less skeptical in the evils of the night, cannot help but admit that “evil things walk by the night…hag or stubborn unlaid ghost…goblin or swart fairies” (Milton, 432-436). The elder brother is confident that virtue and chastity can protect his sister from creatures, or evil spirits, that dwell in the night. He never brings up concern or even protection from spirits wandering in the daylight. Instead, his extensive list of creatures is all attributed to the night. In a similar fashion, the Attendant Spirit adds on that “night by night… [Camus] and his monstrous rout are…doing abhorred rites to Hecate” (Milton, 532-535). The Attendant Spirit adds a rather intriguing piece of information, this is not an action that takes place occasionally, rather it takes place every time night arrives. In other words, if the night has come, then undoubtedly Camus and his monstrous rout are conducting