Garīgo meklējumu krustpunkti Aspazijas un Friča Bārdas dzejā

The article aims to examine the artistic expressions of various religious and philosophical ideas and notions in the poetry of Aspazija (1865–1943) and Fricis Bārda (1880–1919), comparing common trends and possible mutual influences, sometimes also pointing to the motifs’ affinity to the poetical insights of other classical Latvian authors. The study mainly uses a comparative historical method, which nowadays includes interdisciplinarity, supplementing the literary analysis with the context of religious and philosophical ideas in the history of human spiritual thought contained in the poetic examples under consideration. Aspazija and Bārda are different personalities, but in their spiritual search, they share some common points of intersection. Most often, the religious motifs in their poetry are not an affirmation of traditional religious values but rather reflect complex and diverse processes of search based on a synthesis of Christianity, the Platonic philosophical tradition, mythology, Eastern spiritual teachings, Latvian pagan divinity, as well as ideas from classical European poetry. Both poets look at the world similarly, viewing existence as a mystery whose meaning can be approached through an intuitive enlightenment, by being part of the constant flow of life’s creation and change. At certain stages of their spiritual quest, there are similar notions of God’s substantial presence in all existence, motifs characteristic of panentheism, pantheism and monism, which give a metaphysical basis to the wholeness of existence. For both poets, the recognition of the soul’s immortality is significant. In both authors’ poetry, there are many artistically expressive reminiscences of biblical motifs. These motifs are often secularised, as they are used to express other ideas. Towards the end of their lives, the two authors’ poetry shows greater openness to the Christian worldview. Christian motifs are part of the synthesis of religions that characterise both poets.