Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being

Hello ATS, how ya doing?

Surprise! Shakespeare was a mystic.

I am currently reading Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being by Ted Hughes and its very interesting but slow, dense reading. Anyway, there are a few mystical ideas in it that I am listing for us to discuss. I open up the floor for thoughtful questions or comments on any of the following ideas, either in themselves or in relation to the Bard or mysticism in general.

1. The idea of an inclusive system, a grand spiritual synthesis, reconciling religious extremes in an integrated vision of union with the Divine Love.

2. The idea of syncretic mythology, in which all archaic mythological figures and events are available as a thesaurus of glyphs or token symbols - the personal language of the new metaphysical system.

3. The idea of this concordance of mythological (and historical) figures simply as a Memory System, a tabulated chart of all that can be known, of history, of the other world, and of the inner worlds, and in particular of spiritual conditions and moral types.

4. The idea of this system as a theatre.

5. The idea of these images as internally structured poetic images - the idea of the single image as a package of precisely folded multiple meanings, consistent with the meanings of a unified system.

6. The idea of as-if-actual visualization as the first practical essential for effective meditation (as in St Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Disciplines, as well as in Cabbala)

7. The idea of meditation as a conjuring, by ritual magic, of hallucinatory figures - with whom conversations can be held, and who communicate intuitive, imaginative visions and clairvoyance.

8. The idea of drama as a ritual for the manipulation of the soul.

You would love the writings of Joseph Campbell, in particular "The Hero With A Thousand Faces", and Carl Jung's writings as well.

No slouches we mystics, when it comes to philsophy and metaphysics, myth and metaphor. To me these things are absolutely essential spiritual food and water for the human being, who would die inside of spiritual hunger otherwise since the highest will is the will to meaning and significance, even in the face of insignificance. And how can a meaning, or a purpose, a cause NOT be intuited, given the frame of reference we find ourselves within? "All life is a stage and we are merely players".

Great Topic OP. S&F for you.

Yes, he's a famous writer though I never liked his style of writing. The era is okay, though him in particular I do not fancy as a writer. He writes well, obviously, though again it's not my reading style. Perhaps find a book concerning the same topic though written by another author. If it's that exact book and that exact story you want then it may be that you have to just force yourself to read it. Let your imagination go and spice that book up a bit Give the characters faces, for example, people you know.

Originally posted by NewAgeMan
You would love the writings of Joseph Campbell, in particular "The Hero With A Thousand Faces", and Carl Jung's writings as well.

Yes indeed, I have read most of Joe's books and several of Carl's. Other writers I've read that round them out are Karen Armstrong, Huston Smith, Robert Anton Wilson, Mircea Eliade, Jaques Vallee and others. Now, with this book, I add Ted Hughes.

No slouches we mystics, when it comes to philsophy and metaphysics, myth and metaphor. To me these things are absolutely essential spiritual food and water for the human being, who would die inside of spiritual hunger otherwise since the highest will is the will to meaning and significance, even in the face of insignificance. And how can a meaning, or a purpose, a cause NOT be intuited, given the frame of reference we find ourselves within? "All life is a stage and we are merely players".

Great Topic OP. S&F for you.

Thank you kindly!

I think that the more one realizes that life is a stage and we players, the easier it is to accept it when the fat lady sings. Then comes the behind-stage unmasking and after-party, and then a whole new stage with new roles!

Shakespeare stole from Sappho.

And others.

Shakespeare, upon reflection, did have something other-worldly about him. The evolution of Hamlet is too perfect..

But I digress. Number 4 on the list has always interested me, all the world being a stage and the people merely players. All circumstances in life, when viewed not narrowly but instead with an eye towards their full significance, are not only reminiscent but in all actuality the exact same thing as a play or other obvious drama. Like, have you ever been part of a conversation or event where, appearing spontaneous, you know what everyone was going to say, when, and who, like everyone were reading from a script - divinely scripted. So much I could say about this. I love cinema.

For instance, are real life actors really "actors" in the traditional way we think of actors. Or are they really people who can easily get to the essence of what it means to exist in a role, with the ability to be detached and turn it off and on at will. Past all the makeup, exposure, and celebrity, perhaps actors are truly spiritual beings.

Anyway,

8. The idea of drama as a ritual for the manipulation of the soul.

This one is interesting, care to explain?

Have you explored the possibility of Shakespeare being a pseudonym of Francis Bacon?

Anyway, excellent topic. I'm looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts on the issues you presented. I honestly don't have much to contribute at the moment, though I'm quite curious and might check out the book you mentioned and share my thoughts at a later time.