Imaginative Truth : R.S. Thomas at Eglwys-fach: Paradoxical Poet

抄録

R.S. Thomas, a priest and poet, suffered from so much stress caused by complex human relationships, especially with parishioners who lost their faith, in his second parish, Eglwys-fach, Wales that he believed the reality is harsh and absurd. This led him to compose a lot of poetry involving his agony. He raised questions and doubts against not only the absurd reality but also God's existence. However there was no answer. Then he kneeled down before the "untenanted," or empty, cross in his church by himself for the vigil to pray or query to God. "Untenanted" means Christ's absence on the Cross because he was deposited from the Cross and thus his absence proves his presence. So does God's absence. At last Thomas concluded that we could reach for God's realm, "truth," through "imagination" and called it "imaginative truth." He also said God revealed Himself through the medium of nature. So he left church and wandered in the wild nature to search for God or God's absence that proves His presence. This is paradox; but this paradoxical idea is made from his strong faith and his harsh experience in Wales.