The masque refers to the discoveries of features on the Moon by contemporaneous astronomers – Galileo Galilei most famous among them – using the earliest telescopes.
Jonson expressed his skeptical attitude toward these developments in several works written in this period, most notably in The Staple of News (1625), but also here in his 1620 masque.
[3] The characters discuss a number of contemporary issues, culminating in the news from the Moon – which allows for satire on a range of subjects.
The serious portion of the masque follows, in which the "scene opens" to disclose the principal masquers, led by Prince Charles, who descend, "shake off their icicles," and dance, to the accompaniment of music and song.
[4] The modern composer Theodore Antoniou wrote incidental music for the masque; his score was premiered on 30 November 1978, at a performance in Athens, Greece.