The Dance Macabre

The Dance Macabre is an epic poem which deals in one respect with the universality of death. Irrespective of one's class in life, the dance of death unites all. The poem may be linked to a tradition found in many cultures: for Danse Macabre (French), Danza Macabra (Italian and Spanish), or Totentanz (German), were late-medieval allegories which invariably represented a personified Death leading a row of dancing figures to the grave; typically with an emperor, king,youngster, and beautiful girl in the entourage. The intention of such tales and images remind people of how fragile their lives are, and how vain are the glories of earthly life. Its origins derive from illustrated sermon texts; the earliest artistic examples being similar to the one depicted onthe cover, which is adapted from an image found in a cemetery in Paris circa 1424.