ALTERED STATES OF LITERATURE: SHAMANIC ASSIMILATION AND ROMANTIC INSPIRATION

Romantic writers in nineteenth-century England sought altered states of consciousness through substance ingestion, a practice that parallels shamanic techniques for accessing the sacred. Despite significant cultural differences, the article argues that both shamanism and Romanticism share a quest for the sacred via altered states, with Romantic poets assimilating shamanic-like practices into their creative and spiritual pursuits.

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Abstract

This article deals with the connections between the assimilation of certain shamanic practices related to Romantic inspiration in English literature. The interest in the world of altered states of consciousness as a manifestation of the sacred is typical among Romantic writers in nineteenth-century England. These writers in fact sought the manifestation of the world of dreams by means of ingesting substances that alter consciousness, thus assimilating a practice that is likewise and primarily shamanic. This search is the object under investigation in this article, which aims at showing that, despite conspicuous cultural differences, there are indeed similarities that pervade shamanic practices and the Romantic ideal in their quests toward the sacred.