Philip Newell introduces us to 'archetypes of the soul,' such as the king and queen (seen for example in King Lear and Lady Macbeth); the lover and the friend (Juliet and Sir John Falstaff); the judge and the warrior (Shylock and King Henry IV0; the seer and the mage (Hamlet and Pericles); and the fool and the contemplative (Bottom and King Richard II).
The author's hope is that as we glimpse the depths of human nature through Shakespeare's eyes--take part in the journaling exercises included--we will become aware of a healing flow between our unconscious depths and conscious mind, enabling us to reconnect to what is truest in us and in all people.