Negative Capability: Through the Lens of Religious Philosophies of The East and The West

Abstract

Negative capability is one of the most interesting theories by one of the most beautiful creations of the Romantic era. Keats, though not recognized in his times, mostly happens with great figures, but, in modern times, his theory can be applied to every field where people work. This study is going to assess the literary meaning of the term ‘negative capability’, its applicability in Keats’ letters and poetry, its relation with the religious philosophies of the East as well as the West, and how it can transform the lives of the practitioners through the medium of meditation.
Keats is mainly concerned with the sublime idea of imagination, form and style in creating poetry of high rank. His own life experiences and the natural poetic gift shaped his views about poet, poem and poetry. His theory of ‘Negative Capability’ originated through his suffering in life and ultimately by facing extremely adverse circumstances rather than succumbing to them. Moreover, he used to go to watch the plays of Shakespeare and the actor Kean1.
Keats used to open his heart to his family and friends by writing letters at different periods. These letters are the primary source to know and comprehend his basic philosophy of ‘silent mind2’ and ‘negative capability3’ which he practised in his own short life and experienced the state of mind which is known as ‘Superconsciousness4’ in the Indian religious philosophy. In the Yogic philosophy5, when a meditator meditates on a certain object for a consistent period and merges herself into that to experience the subjectivity of the object by way of empathy, she transforms into the concerned object and becomes one.
However, this and similar techniques are also prevalent in all the religious philosophies of the world which can be studied from the literary point of view as the ‘collective consciousness’ runs through all of us. In modern times, negative capability is studied as the literary theory of ambiguity and the theory of absurdism given by Albert Camus.
All the renowned writers like Shakespeare, John Donne, Milton, Pope, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Eliot, Emerson, Thoreau, and Tagore have sung the praises of detachment, depersonalization, objectivity as the religious Gurus, Avatars, Prophets and leaders have taught the value of being one with oneself and losing one’s self in the Ultimate. So, this paper is a sincere effort to bring the literary and religious personalities on one platform to explore the idea of negative capability and its need in day-to-day life to make it better and worth living.