Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 27

Fragment ID: 6967

Dante and Milton

Would it be correct to call Dante a mystic poet? And how would you compare the inspiration-sources of Dante and Milton? Both the poets have a metaphysical background and a strong religious fervour.

I don’t think either can be called mystic poets – Milton not at all. A religious fervour or metaphysical background belongs to the mind and vital, not to a mystic consciousness. Dante writes from the poetic intelligence with a strong intuitive force behind it.

18 October 1936