Divine madness : bipolar disease, creativity, and romanticism : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

Mental illnesses like manic-depression undeniably have the power to destroy lives. However, many believe the same diseases that send victims to therapy, medication, and institutions have also inspired history's greatest philosophers, painters, writers, composers, and poets. While one might hesitate to call mental illness a benefit, manic-depression has a quality that accentuates artists' creative temperament, spurring greater creative thinking. This paper explores the connection between manic-depression and creativity by investigating historical views of the "mad genius" from ancient Greece to modem day. It then examines the characteristics of bipolarity, scientific studies on creative professions, and the experiences of creative individuals to see how the disease influences their work. The bipolar / creativity connection is nowhere more evident than in the work of the British Romantic poets; the paper ends by discussing how the characteristics of Romanticism relate to those of manic-depression, looking specifically at the disorder's effect on the lives and professional careers of William Blake, Lord Byron, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.