Shakespeare’s Drama in View of the Indian Aesthetic Theory of Rasa

Abstract

Human feelings have been categorized into several kinds of emotions according to their cultural traditions. Indian aesthetic theory of rasa divides emotional states up into eight rasas common to human beings: Sringara Rasa (pleasure or love), Hasya Rasa (laughter or humor), Karuna Rasa (sorrow or compassion), Raudra Rasa (anger), Vira Rasa (heroism or courage), Bhayanaka Rasa (terror), Bibhatsa Rasa (disgust), and Adbhuta Rasa(wonder or awesome). We could have some experiences like these in Shakespeare’s plays with all the complex human emotions shown in his dramatic world. Rasa theory deals with entire literary process: from the artist through the work of art to the reader or audience. Thus, Shakespeare’s tragedies could be read or watched in view of the theory, so that we could find the similarities and differences between ‘catharsis’ in Shakespeare and ‘santa rasa’ in Indian arts. Santa rasa is enlightenment like silence, peace or bliss: all rasas of eight emotions rise from and fall into santa rasa. As Shakespeare creates and destroys the world of his own dream in his drama, his tragedies go beyond the effect of catharsis and come near santa rasa. When Shakespeare creates dramatic illusions and he himself destroys them, he has at once the subjective and objective vision of the world. This is breaking the spell of our lives full of various kinds of emotions like eight rasas. Through the process of aesthetic experiences in Shakespeare’s drama, we could attain to enlightenment like santa rasa.