Hello! Today’s blog is on Dark Cosmology and it’s state of being in the great and philosophical world of Shakespeare, in contrast to Boethian concepts.

The term ‘dark’ in Shakespearean literature refers to the underworld, darkness, night, death and witches to name a few, whereas ‘cosmology’ is a system of order and values. I will reference the play Macbeth, which the seminar focused on and throw in the honourable mention of King Lear as well. In contrast to dark cosmology is Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy which consists of opposing ideas and values, an optimistic approach than that of Shakespeare.

This was my exact reaction while reading Boethius. I strongly recommend for those who have not read or heard of this 6th century philosopher’s work to give it a go. There’s a reason why Boethius is highly regarded among famous writers such as Dante and Tolkien. As the title suggests, it was both an inspiration and consolation to read.

Why did I decide to use Boethian concepts as a contrast?

The answer is quite simple. I was binge reading his work the week the seminar was on, so it stayed fresh in my mind.

This reflective post is based on the conference of the upcoming book by Professor Henry S. Turner and Jane Hwang Degenhardt titled Shakespearean Cosmologies: Aesthetics, Ethics, Experience.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary the word cosmology is “the study of the nature and origin of the universe.” The Elizabethan era saw a world of geology, stars, astrology and magic as there was a widespread fear of witchcraft, influencing the works of Shakespeare and many others. Elliot states that, “the inquiries that drove Renaissance science, and the universe it disclosed, are deeply integrated into Shakespeare’s poetic worlds” (Elliot, pg. 32). The impact Shakespeare had and still has today is phenomenal on a universal scale, but I find it is easy to forget or overlook the impact that the world had on him. For example, the works of Boethius who is named one of the most influential philosophers of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Shakespeare would have encountered his ideas through the works of Chaucer who incorporated Boethian concepts into his works.

Boethian optimism speaks of good vs. evil, free will, the almighty God who sees everything, whereas the play Macbeth is a godless play, everything that seems grounded is being undone, King Lear shows a play of a madman and insanity. The plays both define disorganised order in a universe that leads to tragedy, so if we were to apply Boethian ideas to such a world, then the concept of dark cosmology in the world of Shakespeare would be void because there is now a solid foundation.

If only it were that simple….

The conference talk aimed to connect the science of dark cosmology and magical tradition. This brings up the ancient debate between science and magic. Boethius saw science as a logical thought and rejected magic as superstition. Shakespeare, however, includes magic wielders such as witches and superstitions in the form of omens. Boethius makes the observation that, “both happiness and God are supreme goodness, so that it follows that supreme happiness is identical with supreme divinity” (Boethius, pg. 45). By following this concept we can confirm that the lack of happiness and God in these plays led to tragedy and chaos, grouping them into the abyss of the concept of dark cosmology.

These were my thoughts during the seminar, it is fair to say that Shakespeare’s time viewed magic and science together and tragic plays are inherently dark and lacking order, but if we were to take a different approach and separate the two as Boethius has done then is it only the supernatural that forms the dark cosmological view? Or can we also consider the darkness of the human psyche as part of this and whether God plays an important role in establishing value and order.

Humans are a part of the universe, but these plays are known as Godless plays. I would argue that the presence of a godly figure would lead to a dynamic change in the popular Shakespearean tragedies. There would be unanswered questions about whether evil can exist in the presence of God and why the play ended in tragedy if there were a God to help the characters. This is a question that Boethius has resolved by saying that God’s methods can and should be questioned, but that divine knowledge is beyond human understanding. In terms of Macbeth and King Lear, the supernatural as Shakespeare has described in his plays, both have a part in forming the dark cosmological view, and the human psych not only affects the one person but can spread through opinions, action, ideas and even thoughts of a person. Therefore, it is fair to say that the dark cosmological view in the plays of Shakespeare encompasses the supernatural and human psyche, and that establishing the role of God would lead to a change in this view as the aspects of religion would need to be stabilised, because how can there be a God who does not establish value and order? The period that these plays were written in would likely have considered this as blasphemy, even with the view that God’s will can be questioned by humans.

Bibliography

Boethius, Anicius. The Consolation of Philosophy. Book III, Penguin Books Ltd, 2003.

“Cosmology.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cosmology

Elliot, Natalie. “Shakespeare’s Worlds of Science.” The New Atlantis, no. 54, 2018, pp. 30–50.