ABSTRACT
Romeo and Juliet first exchange words, hands, and lips against the backdrop of the dancing which occurs during Act I, Scene v. The significance of that dancing, the full range of its possible functions, comes most clearly into view if the old strategy of examining the cultural context within and against which Shakespeare worked is combined with a new approach that calls upon us to think about Shakespeare's plays not just as literature but also, perhaps even primarily, as theatre. Thomas Elyot's interpretation of Maturum clarifies possible links between the dancing and the imagery of ripening articulated during the play. Elyot's reference to 'celeritie and slownesse' also directs attention to dancing as an activity which reconciles the extremes of speed and slowness which are repeatedly presented during Romeo and Juliet. If the dancing embodies a norm of appropriately-paced, timely action, the relationship between the dancing and the lovers which each production of the play establishes is of potentially crucial significance.
