THE THIRD CATEGORY of genius returns to the original root of the word: a guiding spirit, or personal or familial deity. Throughout history the deeds of exceptional individuals have been seen as proof of their special connection to a god—for example, the ability of Christian saints to withstand and rise above torture. Exceptional creativity, specifically, has often been described as coming from the Goddess Nature or a muse. Whether the muse is literally one of the nine Greek demi-goddesses or a woman glimpsed once and then idealized, as in Dante and Petrarch's cases, the idea that great art is inspired by an outside, divine, mystical, or magical force is a common one in Western Europe. It is surprising, considering how often Shakespeare's genius is raised to the heights of divinity (his plays have been considered a secular bible since at least the late eighteenth century) that his story is not more often connected to magical or mystical sources. However, there are some cases and in each one the goal of bringing Shakespeare to life is overtly to explore the suggestion that only contact with something otherworldly can explain the power and universality of the plays. Genius thus becomes a gift from a superhuman force rather than an inborn or cultivated ability.

Early Examples

Shakespeare has been considered the “poet of Nature” at least since John Milton wrote “sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child, / Warbl[ing] his native wood-notes wild” (133–34). Many later admirers, aware both of his lack of a university education and his refusal to follow the rules of drama, claim that Shakespeare drew his inspiration directly from Nature (meaning both the wellspring of human nature and the natural world). In some sense, this belief underlies all the Chapter One examples, but especially in the eighteenth century. Shakespeare's direct connection with Nature (here meaning not the natural world but the essential force of creation) was both praise and excuse for his apparent flaws. He did not need a university education because he drew his abilities straight from the source of life. These references are usually brief and not attached to any attempt to flesh out the character of Shakespeare; he simply is “Nature's poet.” Furthermore, the mere fact of a supernatural or divine aspect is not enough for it to count as an explanation for Shakespeare's genius.