The Bard for the Dance Between the Sexes
April 22, 2026
The state of marriage and family formation in our young people is disheartening. To peer in a little, one problem in the matrix, reported by the Institute for Family Studies, seems to be a lack of know-how in the dance between the sexes: that is, young people are nervous about even approaching and talking to each other to start dating, let alone discerning the long-term commitment of marriage.
It’s worth examining the bleak landscape of dating and courtship these days if there is any hope of reviving it, and we can find inspiration in the Bard, William Shakespeare. April 23 is observed as both Shakespeare’s birthday (an educated guess based on his baptism date) and the day of his death. On this day, perhaps we can find in his work some illumination for the dance between the sexes.
