Abstract
In this article I hope to demonstrate that the literary touchstones of Shakespeare's plays are a powerful and fruitful source of inspiration and nourishment in therapeutic work. There seems to be an over-lap between the concerns of therapy and literature and these two methods of discourse are mutually beneficial. It seems significant that Apollo is the god of both poetry and healing. There is a case for saying that the reconstructions of the past that are heard in the therapy room are a narrative weaving or a kind of fiction. We are attempting to read, or interpret, something below the surface and become aware of the use of metaphor and symbol, and are thus working at the interface of what is known and not known.