The Harlem Shake was a short-lived and absurd internet meme and dance craze in early 2013, where a group of people would dance wildly, often in costumes, to a short segment of the song 'Harlem Shake.' The fad consisted of videos, often filmed in a single take, that showed one person dancing alone before cutting to a chaotic group dance. It was a viral phenomenon that exemplifies the speed with which online content can spread and disappear, marking a moment in internet history.

The Harlem Shake became a symbol of the collective, viral creativity of the internet age, and it has been referenced in contemporary poetry as a touchstone for 2010s culture. Poets have used the meme to explore themes of group identity, performance, and the fleeting nature of shared experience. The fad's structure—a solitary figure followed by a chaotic collective—provided a metaphor for the tension between individuality and belonging in the digital era.