dance of death
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A medieval allegorical representation of mortality: A "dance of death" is a late-medieval artistic genre, often a painting, mural, or procession, depicting the personification of Death (typically as a skeleton) leading people from all walks of life to the grave. It symbolizes the universality and inevitability of death, emphasizing that all social ranks are equal before it.
- The specific procession or performance depicting this theme: It can also refer to the imagined or dramatized procession itself.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The fresco on the church wall is a famous dance of death, showing a skeleton leading kings, peasants, and clergy.
- The concept of the dance of death was a common motif in European art following the Black Death.
Advanced Usage
- As a metaphor for inevitable decline or a macabre situation: The term can be used figuratively to describe a situation that seems like a grim, inevitable procession towards a bad end.
- The scandal triggered a dance of death for the company's executive team, with resignations following one after another.
Variants and Related Words
- Danse Macabre: This is the original French term for "dance of death," often used interchangeably in English, especially in artistic and musical contexts (e.g., Camille Saint-Saëns's symphonic poem ).
- Memento mori: A related Latin phrase meaning "remember you must die," encompassing a broader category of art intended to remind viewers of their mortality.
Synonyms
- Danse Macabre (n): The direct French equivalent.
- Procession of death (n): A descriptive synonym.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- A dance with death: This is a related but distinct idiom meaning to take extreme risks or to narrowly avoid a fatal outcome.
- The pilot's daring maneuver was a dance with death.
Noun
- a medieval dance in which a skeleton representing death leads a procession of others to the grave