What is it about?
In a poetic retelling of Antinous' attempted seduction of Penelope, a scene from Homer's Odyssey, Davies employs dance literally and metaphorically so that it functions as a form of rhetoric and out-performs the seduction rhetoric of Antinous. The verbal rhetoric of Antinous, while theoretically sound in its rhetorical characteristics and presentation, fails to sway Penelope. Ultimately, it is dance that proves the successful rhetor, as it performs eloquently and persuasively to move Penelope's mind toward accepting dance as a virtuous and noble activity.
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Why is it important?
Framed in a delineation of the shared qualities of rhetoric and dance, this paper makes use of classical and Renaissance rhetoric and dance treatises, as well as the work of modern rhetoric, dance, and literature scholars. The study of dance as a form of rhetoric in early modern literature studies highlights the Renaissance idea of unity among the arts.
Perspectives
I enjoyed writing this article because it allowed me to delve deeply into the shared qualities of dance and rhetoric and to recognize that the creation of poetry is also a form of dancing. It also allowed me to engage with a unique critical perspective of dance in the early modern era.
Melissa Hudler
Lamar University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “Rapt with sweet pleasure”: The Rhetoric of Dance in Sir John Davies’ Orchestra or A Poem of Dancing, Ben Jonson Journal, November 2018, Edinburgh University Press,
DOI: 10.3366/bjj.2018.0222.
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