In England, the baroque was a somewhat useful concept when discussing Restoration Comedy. English theaters remained closed for 18 years, during the English Civil War and the English Commonwealth. They were reopened with the Restoration of Charles II (1660). During this period, Restoration Comedy and tragicomedy appeared and were enormously successful. "During the Restoration period, successful plays made careful use of the three hours or so that audiences could spend in the theater – from the "first music," which called spectators to their seats, to the announcement of the next day's offering, which ended the show by inviting them to return. (Roach, 2005: 33). They showed “the seedy sexual side of the smooth social world” (Alexander, 2000: 160). masquerade (disguise, dissimulation, carnival) in The Rover (1681) by Aphra Bhen and Marriage A-la-Mode (1673) by John Dryden. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be prohibited"? Get an original essay The plot of the tragicomedy, however, suffers from a structural division: platonic, idealistic and heroic (which represents the tragic part of the plot) and the other anti-romantic, pragmatic and comic (which is the comic side of plot). The masquerade in Dryden's Marriage-a-la-Mode is expressed by: controversial dramatic plot, baroque mixture of heterogeneous elements, thematic disjunction and formal symmetry. In Behn's The Rover from cross-dressing and "subversive mimesis", from the reversal of roles and the suspension of hierarchical structures, prenuptial agreements and clauses and performative identities: female ingenuity and reformed freedoms. “The lively action of the Restoration theater is perhaps epitomized in Act I, scene 2 of Aphra Behn's The Rover (1677), when the "wild" Helena, on probationary leave from a convent, cheerfully preparing her disguise for the carnival, speaks decisively in the imperative to his tempted but more fearful companions: "Let's go and digress." “(Roach, 2005: 33). In his restoration play, The Rover, women use masquerade to hide their true identities and to emphasize their submissive sexuality. Men use this to their advantage, discovering a darker side of their nature, practically erasing the lines between prostitutes and quality women. “Behn's work is set in Spanish Naples in the 1650s. It centers on the courtship of Florinda by the English knight, Colonel Belvile, who fell in love with her in Spain and followed her to Naples. (Corman, 2005: 63). Their marriage is opposed by Pedro, her brother, who wants to marry her to Don Antonio. “Florinda and Belvile's love interest drives much of the action, including the parallel courtship of their friends Valeria and Frederick, and a considerable amount of the frenetic intrigue, deception and disguise so important to the show's success.” (Corman, 2005: 63). The third “much livelier and more engaging” (Corman, 2005: 63) relationship is that of his sister Hellena (who was supposed to become a nun) with Willmore. Hellena sees the convent as something that is the exact opposite of what she wanted, so she chooses to adopt the gypsy mask and embrace the freedom it offers. Willmore, “the title character and friend of the other “bandit knights”” (Corman, 2005: 63) directly proportional to the aspirations of the Carnival, is the tramp of the play. He only seeks carnal pleasure but still ends up with a “happy ending”. It alternates between her and Angellica Bianca (the courtesan who sells herself for a thousand crowns). He sleeps with Hellena in exchange for his promise to remain faithful to her, and almosthe rapes Florinda when he is drunk. “The balance between the serious, high-toned lovers, Florinda and Belvile, and the wilder, wittier Hellena and Willmore best exemplifies a standard structural unity in comedy of the era, which would become even more popular by the end of the century” . (Corman, 2005: 64). Ultimately, Hellena cleverly manipulates the love game by disguising herself as a boy and professing her love to Willmore. He can only do this because his masquerade allows him to. He can thus experiment with a more “masculine” identity. This gives her more power and authority in the play than she would have had if she had only been portrayed as herself. The same happens to Florinda, when she joins the Carnival to look for Belvile dressed as a gypsy. The ending is happy for almost everyone: Florinda marries Belvile, Hellena marries Willmore and Valeria (kind of Florinda) marries Frederick, Lucetta manages to steal Blunt's money and Angellica Bianca remains a single widow. Aphra Behn seems to criticize the way women do this. they do not want to adhere to their pre-programmed destinies they are automatically seen as prostitutes “Why must we be guilty of fornication or murder if we converse with you men?”[1] . Carnival becomes a way to deploy the sexual double standards used by men to judge a woman. Therefore the masquerade challenges individual and social identities, women's (sexual) freedom and domination by men or patriarchal means. It is associated with social change, Behn dramatizes the reversal of roles and the suspension of hierarchical structures, prenuptial agreements and clauses. [1] Helena, Act I, Scene II, 208-209John Dryden (1631-1700) was a poet, literary critic, translator and playwright. His Marriage A-la-Mode (1673) was first performed in London by the King's Company. The work is set in Sicily and follows two plots: "the "high" plot in verse which deals with problems of state and love for Leonidas and Palmyra with the pastoral name, alongside the "low" plot in prose which deals with adulterous inclinations of the no less pastorally called but Dorinda, Melanthia, Rhodophil and Palamedes much less pastorally inclined (Munnus, 2005: 148). of Charles' reign" (Hughes, 2008: 205). The first plot concerns the love story of Leonidas and Palmyra who were separated from their parents as children and were raised by Hermogenes, who kept their past secret. When recognized by the king usurper Polydamas, Hermogenes declares that Leonidas is Polydamas's son. Leonidas' new position as prince prohibits him from marrying Palmyra. The two lovers refuse to stop seeing each other and so Palmyra is sentenced to death. At that moment Hermogenes declares the truth : Palmyra is the daughter of Polydamas and Leonidas is his son. Palmyra is declared a princess but is again forbidden to marry the man she loves. Hermogenes finally admits the whole truth: Leonidas is the son of the legitimate king. Then Leonidas starts a rebellion against Polydamas, wins and declares himself king and is finally allowed to marry Palmyra. "Corrected the mistake, he reverts to being a fisherman's son, is privately identified as the true king, and finally manages to publicly declare his identity while on the verge of being executed." (Hughes, 2008: 206). The entire situation created by Hermogenes is a dissimulation that could have easily been avoided, but it would not have been a tragicomedy. "In the companion comedy plot, two bored couples try to enjoy each other's partners." (Hughes, 2008: 205). It mixes with the first, concerns Rhodophiles and Palamedes. Rhodophil is in love with Palamedes' fiancée, Melantha, and Palamedes falls in love with the wife of. 148