Shakuntala Unessay

For my second project, I decided to make a poster about some major these in the Shakuntala reading. The 3 large themes that I identified were Love vs Duty, Nature, Body and Spirt, and Concealment vs Separation. I felt like these themes specifically stuck out to me. 

“But how can it have happened that, simply at the sight of this man, I am shaken with a passion so at odds with the religious life” ( Shakuntala)

Firstly,  the role of Duty vs Love has a prominent role in the text.  When Shakuntala meets the King she is confused about her emotions, she is unaware if it is right to choose the king and be with him because of her duties at the hermitage. These choices have to be made and the values of tradition play such a huge role in the lives of these characters. When we read these texts we can only imagine living in a time like this. But as we read and read it creates excitement to see these characters having to go through things and have to make decisions that we most likely in today’s world don’t, and that’s the power of literature, recognizing and learning about past ways of life. Specifically, in this quote words that pop out to me are “shaken with a passion”. The idea that Shakuntala is so incredibly in a loop with her emotions and her religion creates an underlying connection between the two characters. 

“My dear, how lucky then that your desires at one with nature. Where should a great river wend if not the sea? What’s plants lush enough for the jasmine to entwine if not the mango?”

Next, I’ll be talking about my second theme, Nature, Body, and Spirituality.  In the text, Shakuntala is always talking about nature and how she connects to back to herself and her spirit. One time even saying, “when I forget myself” I go to the water. Having the ability to so connect with nature and allowing your surroundings to have such a connection to your body and spirit is amazing. I think that this specific theme is worth noting and changes the way we understand literature because again like the first theme people like reading about things that are different from today. Having that connection to nature and allowing it to change the way you think, feel, and act is miraculous. What popped out to me specifically in this quote was the words, “desires at one with nature”. The ideology that Shakuntala herself is one with nature, allowing herself to be completely consumed in the way of nature that to her, nature is one with her body, and spirit. These three things to her are one. 

“My dear, that cruelty I practiced on you has come full circle, since how it is I who needs to be recognized by you.”
 Lastly, the last theme I chose was Concealment vs Separation. The couple’s initial courtship is marked by the interplay of clarity and concealment. For example, the King’s identity is concealed at first. Dusyanta hands over his insignia and bow to his driver before entering the hermitage so that he’ll appear modest and humble while there, thus concealing his royal identity. Then, as soon as the king enters the hermitage grounds, he sees Shakuntala and her friends at a distance and waits in the shadow of the trees to admire them. The king thus shields his identity both symbolically and physically at the outset of the play. The idea of concealment is a theme in almost the entire text, later when Shakuntala and King Dasyanta meet again after six years of separation they hardly recognize eachother then the King says, “My dear, that cruelty I practiced on you has come full circle since now it is I who need to be recognized by you.” By saying this the King is letting Shakuntala know that he’s the only one that she needs to recognize. The power of separation sets in for the King and he is reminiscing on how he failed to achieve togetherness when she took in front of him before. This connects the readers to feel bad for both characters and creates emotions in the text. In this quote, the words “full circle” complete the quote for me. When the king and Shakuntala first met it was the king who approached her, trying to flaunt his power, and beauty, however now the king is saying that Skauntala is the one who needs to recognize him. This displays the true love that he feels and, his only care is for her at this moment.