Mystical Poetics
The Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology February 25, 2020 Alexander J. B. Hampton
Mystical poetry enables an experience of the divine that discursive language cannot achieve. The development of Christian mysticism is deeply bound to poetics, drawing on Platonic poetry, Hebrew creation, and Christian kenosis as sources. Rhythm, language, and the poetic imagination are central to this tradition. The historical development of mystical poetry begins with early Christian reflection on figurative and lyrical uses of scripture to express a personal relationship with God. Vernacular mysticism is explored through four poets: Dante, Jacopone, Hadewijch, and Angelus Silesius. The interaction of poetic form and spiritual content demonstrates how poetics allows the mystical writer to achieve a result for the reader otherwise not possible in discursive forms.