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What is the danse macabre?

The danse macabre (French: “dance of death”) is a medieval allegorical concept found in drama, poetry, and music as well as the visual arts. It is typically represented as a procession of living and dead figures, with the living figures arranged according to their life rank (for example, from pope or emperor down to child or infant) being led by a death figure to a grave. The danse macabre symbolizes the inevitability of death for all (memento mori), regardless of social rank.