Heavenly Dances and Mortal Fights Dance and Swordplay in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Abstract

Dance and swordplay played important roles in the early modern playhouse. Considered to be complementary arts, they were a feature of many plays of the time, including William Shakespeare’s.¹ Actors would have needed to be skilled in dancing and fencing to fulfil their roles in such plays. To accurately portray a wide range of societies and characters and to appeal to the range of audience members in the playhouse—from the working classes to gentlemen—acting companies would have to know both elite and common dance and fencing practices.² Presenting a pavane on stage, for example, would resonate with upper classes in the audience, while a country or morris dance would be recognizable by working-class audience members.³ In his plays, Shakespeare uses dance and swordplay as part of the play’s action, and in his rhetoric to develop characters’ personalities, create stylistic figures, portray tropes, and perform other functions.⁴