The Rose and the Cross: Western Esotericism in Russian Silver Age Drama

Here are two books in one: an extensive discussion of Western esotericism in relation to the most famous drama of the Russian Silver Age, The Rose and the Cross, along with a new translation of Aleksandr Blok's mysterious play. Blok was inspired by the occult revival that largely defined the Russian Silver Age, and his play dramatizes his replies to the characteristically Gnostic questions ""Who are we? What have we become? Where were we? Whither have we been cast?"" In his comprehensive introduction to and commentary on The Rose and the Cross, Lance Gharavi reveals how Blok, in this highly symbolic drama, drew from the Western esoteric tradition sof Gnosticism, Kabbalism, Hermetism, and alchemy in order to create his own masterwork, here complete with Blok's own annotations.