“Rapt with sweet pleasure”: The Rhetoric of Dance in Sir John Davies’ Orchestra or A Poem of Dancing

Abstract

This article examines the trope of dance in Orchestra or a Poem of Dancing, specifically the ways in which dance functions as a form of rhetoric and, ultimately, out-performs the seduction rhetoric of Antinous. Presented literally and metaphorically, dance as the subject of Antinous' rhetoric repels Penelope, while the image of dance that appears in Love's mirror enraptures her so strongly that she esteems the weaving and unweaving of bodies above her own weaving and unweaving of thread. This activity of chaste waiting is attended to also in metaphorical terms, as it provides a parallel with the ongoing weaving and simultaneous unweaving of Antinous' argument that Penelope should dance with him. The conclusion reached is that 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, indeed moves her to be “rapt with sweet pleasure” at the sight of its measured oration. Framed in a delineation of the shared qualities of rhetoric and dance, this argument relies upon classical and Renaissance rhetoric and dance treatises, as well as the work of modern rhetoric, dance, and literature scholars.