Spiritual Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s dramas delight and move theatre audiences even today. This is deeply puzzling as they were written more than 400 years ago. Spiritual Shakespeare is an attempt to unravel this mystery. The reason for the unfailing appeal of Shakespeare’s art lies in the fact that under the surface of often light entertainment Shakespeare is concerned with the deepest and most universal existential challenges of man. The author argues that it is impossible to fully understand this dimension of Shakespeare within the currently dominant materialistic ontology. There have been attempts at exposing the deeper and deeply spiritual level of Shakespeare’s plays (most notably Martin Lings’ The Sacred Art of Shakespeare), yet it can best be revealed in the light of Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual science. This vantage point enables the author to demonstrate i. a. that what is often regarded as irritating inconsistencies in Shakespeare’s text are in fact subtle guideposts to hidden treasures.