The arc of temporality: eschatological perspectives in the poetry of a Carthusian monk

The Arc of Temporality refers to the eschatological theme of ‘Beginning and End’ in the poetry of an anonymous Carthusian monk-poet in the period 1964 – 2024. This article approaches the topic mainly from the perspective of Catholic monastic spirituality. The textual analysis of the selected poems is divided into three sections: The Beginning, The End, and The Arc of Temporality. Each section considers temporal perspectives in the context of these subcategories. The final section of the article draws on all subsections with some references to the Carthusian monastic and early Christian traditions. The trajectory proceeds from the temporal considerations of the creation and the eschatological end arriving at a holistic divine perspective of God’s salvific plan and eternity. The Carthusian tradition of contemplating ‘things of heaven’ in silence and solitude appears to facilitate the rich poetic observation of the temporal and the eternal, horizontal and vertical, rational and mystical.