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Essay / Analysis of the Black Death - 1821
Society's fascination with death increased, as shown in John Lydgate's "Dance of Death." The poem personifies Death who maintains relations with a doctor. Some historians, such as Heinrich of Herford, have compared death to a chess piece. The game symbolized the Black Death as each “piece” or person tried to survive. Another artistic movement, the chilled tomb movement, depicted carcasses with worms and toads. The tomb of François de la Sarra in La Sarraz, Switzerland, features a male body with worms covering his limbs and face. Another funerary representation, A Disputacion betyx the Body and Wormes, depicts a female corpse accompanied by worms. Obviously, the verses illustrate the morbid theme of death and decay, of body and soul, during the dark period.