Sign-In
Cart
Mysticism in English Literature
Paperback
Literary CriticismPoetry CriticismGeneral Poetry
Publisher: Kellieann
Published: Aug 20 2026
Pages: 120
Weight: 0.38
Height: 0.25 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
This work seeks to define mysticism, tracing its philosophical roots and examining how it manifests in the works of various poets and prose writers. The book emphasizes the idea that mysticism is not merely a set of beliefs but an experiential attitude that connects the individual with a greater universal truth. The opening of the book lays the groundwork for this exploration by clarifying the term mysticism and its often mistaken interpretations. Spurgeon discusses how the concept has evolved from ancient philosophical thought, specifically referencing figures like Plato and Plotinus, to its presence in English literature. She articulates that mysticism represents a conviction of unity underlying all existence, distinguishing between the intellectual understanding and the direct experiential knowledge of this unity. The author begins to outline how leading English writers, including Wordsworth, Blake, and Browning, express mystical thoughts through their works, inviting readers to delve deeper into the interplay between literature and spiritual experience.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1911), after defining a mystic as one who believes in spiritual apprehension of truths beyond the understanding, adds, whence mysticism (n.) (often contempt). Whatever may be the precise force of the remark in brackets, it is unquestionably true that mysticism is often used in a semi-contemptuous way to denote vaguely any kind of occultism or spiritualism, or any specially curious or fantastic views about God and the universe. The word itself was originally taken over by the Neo-platonists from the Greek mysteries, where the name of μύστης given to the initiate, probably arose from the fact that he was one who was gaining a knowledge of divine things about which he must keep his mouth shut (μύω = close lips or eyes). Hence the association of secrecy or mystery which still clings round the word.
2 different editions
Also available
Also from
Spurgeon, Caroline Frances Eleanor
Chaucer devant la critique en Angleterre et en France depuis son temps jusqu'à nos jours
Spurgeon, Caroline Frances Eleanor
Paperback
Richard Brathwait's Comments, in 1665, Upon Chaucer's Tales of the Miller and the Wife of Bath, Volumes 7-16
Spurgeon, Caroline Frances Eleanor
Brathwaite, Richard
Paperback
Also in
Poetry Criticism
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry
Laux, Dorianne
Addonizio, Kim
Paperback
Letters to a Young Poet: With the Letters to Rilke from the ''Young Poet''
Rilke, Rainer Maria
Kappus, Franz Xaver
Searls, Damion
Hardcover
Faeries, Sprites & Malevolent Spirits: An Anthology of Classic Poetry & Stories
Thorne, Aurora
Hardcover
Poem a Day: 366 Poems, Old and New - One for Each Day of the Year
Albery, Nicolas
McCosker, Karen
Paperback
Flint and Feather: The Complete Poems of E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake (1922)
Johnson, E. Pauline
Paperback
Poetry from Spaceship Earth: Empire and Ecology in Post-1945 American Poetry
Rahimtoola, Samia
Paperback
Leaves of Grass: The Complete 1855 and 1891-92 Editions: A Library of America Paperback Classic
Whitman, Walt
Paperback
Three Simple Lines: A Writer's Pilgrimage Into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku
Goldberg, Natalie
Hardcover
The Enclosures of Free Verse: Racializing Poetic Form in the Modernist Era
Kappeler, Erin Joyce
Paperback
The Answer / La Respuesta (Expanded Edition): Including Sor Filotea's Letter and New Selected Poems
de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inés
Paperback