Shakespeare and the Fire of Love

The Christian-Platonic philosophy of love expounded by such thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, and Plotinus is proven to be a permeating philosophy in Shakespearean plays and sonnets in this critical examination. The commentaries of scholar-priest Marsilio Ficino and other key Renaissance writings are linked to specific speeches or sonnets penned by Shakespeare. Christian-Platonic philosophy is presented as the force that allowed Shakespeare to write about such universal themes as the harmony and disharmony between nations and princes and the interior conflicts of the mind and soul. Classical references and images identify the true Promethean fire: romantic attraction.

Jill Line is a former lecturer at the Temenos Academy in London and at the Prince of Wales Shakespeare Summer School for teachers in Stratford-upon-Avon. She is the author of four booklets on drama published by the Globe Theater in London.