A comic or grotesque dramatic performance presented before or between acts of a formal masque, often featuring ridiculous characters or situations.
From anti- (against, opposite) + masque (an elaborate theatrical entertainment). The antimasque developed in Jacobean England as a deliberate comic foil to the elegant, serious masque performances.
The antimasque was basically the Renaissance version of comedic relief, where intentionally ugly characters and slapstick humor played against the refined dancing and poetry of the main show—it's like a joke setup before the punchline.
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