Rasa theory

Introduction 

Rasa Theory asserts that entertainment (in the drama/performance) is expected to evoke Rasa or joy (artistic) but that is not the primary goal. The primary goal is instead to create parallel life in front of the audience to experience a sense of one's own (i.e. Consciousness, spiritual and moral question).

Defination of rasa

According to Bharata, “Rasa is so called because it is capable of being tasted (asvadvate).” A particular state of mind gives rise to an aesthetic relish which emerges from the combination of various emotional factors.

 Meaning of Rasa

Rasa at one time meant ‘water’, ‘juice’ or ‘wine’. At another time it implied ‘essence’. In another context it meant ‘relish’ or ‘savouring’. There was a time when it indicated the primary constituents of medicine. It also meant ‘aesthetic pleasure’ or ‘enjoyment’ a meaning or association of meanings with which we are essentially concerned.

 

 Nine rasas of Indian poetics

Shringar Rasa

: means the rasa indicating romance and love. It can be seen in manyof the dramas dealing with love stories and it is easily visible in Indian retro movieswhich had loud expressions like drama. Lord Vishnu ids the Presiding deity and thecolour representing romance and love is green colour.2.

 

Hasya Rasa

: denotes laughter and comedy. Lord Ganesha is the presiding deity ofHasya Rasa, Ganesha is also known as Vighnaharta (means one who clears all theobstacles in our life). It is believed that He can prevent all our troubles and obstaclesand lead us to our success. White colour is used to symbolize the hasya rasa.

 

 

Raudram Rasa

: denotes fury or anger. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva also knownas Rudra. It is believed that Lord Shiva is very innocent and so he can be easilypleased and he gets very furious quickly. At the same time he is very generoustowards the good people. Red colour indicates the raudram rasa. In western culturealso red indicate poverty and violence or bloodshed and thereby supporting thisconcept.

 

Karunya Rasa:

 denotes compassion and mercy. Seeing a tragedy. For example when

we see Shakespeare’s tragedy we de

velop a compassion towards the hero. Lord Yamawho is believed to take our souls to Yamlok after our death is the presiding deity ofKarunya rasa. It is symbolized by the dove colour or grey colour.

 

Bhibhasam Rasa

: denotes disgust or aversion. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva andthe colour is blue.

 

Bhayanaka Rasa

: shows horror and terror. For example the opening scene of

 Macbeth

which shows the three witches induces some sort of terror in the audience.Its presiding deity Devi Kalarathri. It is denoted by the black colour.

 

Veeram Rasa:

 symbolizes or portrays heroism. Its presiding deity is Lord Indra, whois the king of heaven and it is believed that he is responsible for bringing the rain andthunder. It is expressed using saffron colour.

 

Adbhuta Rasa

: expresses wonder and amazement. It has the creator Bhrahma(Brahma) as its deity. Yellow colour is used to express this rasa.

 

Shanti Rasa

: which indicates peace, Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity of Shanti rasaand it is indicated with white colour. It is not there in the Indian poetics. It was later edited by the scholar.

विभावानु भाव व्यभिचारी संयोगाद रस निष्पतिः।

This means that rasa develops from the blending of vibhava, anubhava and vyabhichari. It manifests itself when the sthayibhava, the emotion of the reader is correlated with the following three aspects presented in a piece of creative literature (i) excitant (ii) ensuing response and (iii) transitory feelings.

Sthayibhava : permanent emotions or feelings. There are 8 or 9 sthayi bhavas are there and they are,

Rati (Love)

Hasa (Laughter)

Soka (Grief)

Krodha (anger)

Utsaha (Enthusiasm)

Bhaya (fear).

Jugupsa (Disgust)

Vismaya (astonishment)

Nirveda (Indifference/renunciation).

Vatsalya (Affection for children).

Sneha or Sahacarya (Desire for the companionship particular friend).

Vyabhicharibhava: transitory (fleeting) emotions. There are 33 vyabhichari bhavas are there they are 

Nirveda (Despondency or indifference)

Glani (Weakness languishing)

Sanka (Apprehension)

Asura (Envy or jealousy)

Mada (Intoxication)

Srama (Fatigue)

Alasya (Indolence)

Dainya (Depression)

Cinta (Anxiety)

Moha (Delusion)

Smrti (Recollection memory)

Dhrti (Contentment)

Vrida (Shame)

Capalata (Inconstancy)

Harsa (Joy)

Avega (Agitation)

Gaiva (Arrogance)

Jadata (Stupor)

Visada (Despair)

Antsukya (Longing)

Nidra (Sleep)

Apasmara (Epilepsy)

Supta (Dreaming)

Vibodha (Awakening)

Amarsa (Indignation)

Avahitta (Dissimulation)

Ugrata (Ferocity)

Mati (Resolve)

Vyadhi (Sickness)

Unmada (Insanity)

Marana (Death)

Trasa (Terror)

Vitarka (Trepidation)

Vibhava : excitant or stimulating determinants.The vibhavas or determinants help in development of a feeling in sentiment. These vibhavas are of two kinds: alambana (supporting) and uddipana (excitant).

Anubhava : Consequent or ensuing response.

Anubhavas are the consequents or reactions to these deternminants. Thus according to Bharata, through the union of vibhava, anubhava and sancharibhava rasa is manifested.

 4 types of acting realted to rasa theory

1.organic acting (આંગિક અભિનય):

A natural response that comes (organically) from deep within the character/actor.

2.expression of speech:

(વાંચીક અભિનય):It is to read the expression of actor and actress which is cane on their faceVāchika Abhinaya as a dominant component - Koodiyattam, Nangyar Kooothu, Ottan, Seetangan & Parayan - the three types of Thullal, Mudiyettu are the most popular.

3.Satvik acting. (સાત્વિક  અભિનય)Sāttvika Abhinaya is the mental message, emotion or image communicated with the audience through the performer's own inner emotions. The dancer or actor has to use experience, something authentic, to capture the audience and to elicit an empathetic response. The human activity in other words, is traditionally classified as belonging to the mind, voice and body. Bharatha Muni in Natyashastra mentioned that sathva is something originated in mind.

4.   Dietary acting   (આહાર્ય અભિનય)

Another means of representation of the play is indeed the costumes and physical decorations of the actors and the theatre. In dramas and dance dramas, costume and making are distinguished by the sex, race, sect or class, or the social position of the characters, giving the production of the presentation some semblance of reality. The decorations of the stage theatre including lights and accessories are related to the scene of the depiction in which enhances the rasa between the audience and artists also comes.

4 speakers on rasa theory:

There in the rasa theory four speakers throw light on this theory 

Bhatt lolatt:uttptivaad 

As per bhatt loatt rasa generated from the character,before that rasa has no existence at all.

Shree shankuk:Anumiti vaad

 As per shankuk  Rasa has no existence  at all,it has assumption.

Bhatt nayak:sadharni karan

 સાધારણ  means common, which is gave us experience  of rasa.

Abhinav gupta:

As per abhinavagupta  rasa is neither  generated  nor assumption. It has given the readers.

Conclusion:

In the Indian performing arts, a rasa is an emotion inspired in an audience by a performer. They are described by Bharata Muni in the Nātyasāstra, an ancient work of dramatic theory. Rasas are created by bhavas: the gestures and facial expressions of the actors

Waiting for Godot:As an absurd play

About writer

Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. A resident of Paris for most of his adult life, he wrote in both French and English.

About Waiting for godot

Waiting for Godot, tragicomedy in two acts by Irish writer Samuel Beckett, published in 1952 in French as En attendant Godot and first produced in 1953. Waiting for Godot was a true innovation in drama and the Theatre of the Absurd’s first theatrical success.

Summary of the play

The play consists of conversations between Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for the arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he will appear but who never does. They encounter Lucky and Pozzo, they discuss their miseries and their lots in life, they consider hanging themselves, and yet they wait. Often perceived as being tramps, Vladimir and Estragon are a pair of human beings who do not know why they were put on earth; they make the tenuous assumption that there must be some point to their existence, and they look to Godot for enlightenment. Because they hold out hope for meaning and direction, they acquire a kind of nobility that enables them to rise above their futile existence.

 . 

Defination  of absurd play

drama in which normal conventions and dramatic structure are ignored or modified in order to present life as irrational.

Waiting for Godot as an absurd play

Waiting for Godot” fulfills every requirement of an absurd play. It has no story, no characterization, no beginning nor any end, unexplained themes, imitation of dreams and nightmares and above all it contains useless dialogues.

No story or plot:

“Waiting for Godot” does not tell any story nor does it has a plot. The play starts with waiting and ends with it. Characters do not go anywhere. They stand still in front of audience and do nothing except passing the ball. They talk and pass the time. The play lacks action. Actions of characters are not related to plot but to themselves. Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot and audience perceive that perhaps real story of the play will start after Godot’s arrival but Godot does not appear on stage nor is he introduced to the audience. Eventually, play ends with waiting. In this ways, “Waiting for Godot” fulfills first requirement of an absurd play.

Lack of characterization 

waiting for Godot yet it is not told to the audience that what purpose Godot will serve if he comes. Hence, lack of characterization proves that “Waiting of Godot” is a play of absurd theater.

No Beginning and End:

It has no beginning nor has any end. It starts with a situation and ends with it. Both the acts start and end in same way. For instance, when characters come on stage they reveal their purpose. They say they are waiting but Godot does not come and the act ends with waiting. Second act is also the copy of first act with minor differences. The play goes on and eventually ends with wait. Hence, there is no proper start of the play nor does it has a proper end. It is a journey from nothingness to nothingness as observed by an eminent critics.

Useless dialogues 

Dialogues create action in every play. Action looses its importance without worthy dialogues. In case of “Waiting for Godot”, no action has been presented, therefore, dialogues are boring and they are written just to pass the ball. Thus, they are meant to pass the time. Word “nothing” has been repeated numerously in the play. It actually indicates nothingness in it. Thus, dialogues of the play are nothing but incoherent babbling. “Waiting for Godot” can be called an absurd play due to this trait of absurd theater.

Unexplained Themes:

Unclear themes also make “Waiting for Godot” a play of absurd theater. Audience do not observe any obvious theme in the play. Superiority of a play is always dependent on its themes. “Waiting for Godot” has no obvious theme. If there is any, it is hidden. Moreover, it presents individualistic vision of the writer

Questions of Existence

Absurd plays raise some basic questions of existence like- why we are alive why we have to die and why there is injustice and suffering here by the character sketch of Vladimir Beckett raise question about existance

Illogical Speeches and Meaningless Plots

By illogical speeches and meaningless plots, they wish to establish a feeling of freedom to make their own worlds. Here in the play illogical speeches can be seen in the character of lucky.

Absurdists have no time, place and character in their plays as they feel that there is no past or future, only the repetition of the present. In the play there is setting of an evening time and characters like eatragone valdimir Lucky and pozzo the vagueness is seen.

Distrust in Language

For absurdist playwrights, language is only a meaningless communication and stereotyped exchange of ideas because words fail to express essence of human existence.

Use of nonsensical language

In the play there Is use of nonsensical language which Is  introduced by the character of estragone. He ask some nonsensical question.

Plot

There is always a menacing outside force that remains a mystery throughout the play. Absence, emptiness, nothingness, and unresolved mysteries are central features of many Absurdist plots.

Nothingness 

In the play there is nothingness no action has happened as estragon  says that 

Nobody comes, nobody goes, it's  awful

Conclusion:

 Absurd play is not a positive play as it never tries to prove that man can still live in the futile world. It only demonstrates the absurdity and illogicality of the world in which we live but does not provide any solution to the problem. By these play, man is again and again reminded that his existence in the world is in fact absurd and meaningless.

Work cited

waiting for godot" as an absurd play: Absurd theater characteristics. ASK LITERATURE. (2021, November 20). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://askliterature.com/drama/samuel-beckett/waiting-for-godot/waiting-for-godot-as-an-absurd-play/

Five Parts of the poem:Waste Land

Introduction 

Waste land is a modern epic poem which is written by T.S.Eilot. in this poem Eliot connected pandamic of Spanish flu. At that time the spanish flu is affected many of literary  texts.

About poet

Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.[2] Considered one of the 20th century's major poets, he is a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry.

About the poem:

The poem is divided into five sections. The first, "The Burial of the Dead", introduces the diverse themes of disillusionment and despair. The second, "A Game of Chess", employs alternating narrations, in which vignettes of several characters address those themes experientially. "The Fire Sermon", the third section, offers a philosophical meditation in relation to the imagery of death and views of self-denial in juxtaposition, influenced by Augustine of Hippo and Eastern religions. After a fourth section, "Death by Water", which includes a brief lyrical petition, the culminating fifth section, "What the Thunder Said", concludes with an image of judgement.

Burial of the dead

Eliot’s poem opens, famously, with a declaration that ‘April is the cruellest month’. This is because, we are told, flowers and plants grow – as you’d expect from springtime – but they grow ‘out of the dead land’. Few people would probably name April as the cruellest of the twelve months, so immediately Eliot’s poem, possibly recalling, and overturning, the opening line of Chaucer’s ‘General Prologue’ to The Canterbury Tales, is out to surprise us with the unexpected. The opening lines of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales depict the joyous abundance of fertility and new life at springtime, where Eliot seems to take the opposite view:

This surprise continues when we are told that it was winter, rather than spring or summer, that kept the speaker warm, because it covered up the dead land in snow, which made him (assuming rather tenuously that the speaker is male) forget the fact that it is a dead land – a waste land.

A Game Of Chess

This section takes its title from two plays by the early 17th-century playwright Thomas Middleton, in one of which the moves in a game of chess denote stages in a seduction. This section focuses on two opposing scenes, one of high society and one of the lower classes. The first half of the section portrays a wealthy, highly groomed woman surrounded by exquisite furnishings. As she waits for a lover, her neurotic thoughts become frantic, meaningless cries. Her day culminates with plans for an excursion and a game of chess. The second part of this section shifts to a London barroom, where two women discuss a third woman. Between the bartender’s repeated calls of “HURRY UP PLEASE IT’S TIME” (the bar is closing for the night) one of the women recounts a conversation with their friend Lil, whose husband has just been discharged from the army. She has chided Lil over her failure to get herself some false teeth, telling her that her husband will seek out the company of other women if she doesn’t improve her appearance. Lil claims that the cause of her ravaged looks is the medication she took to induce an abortion; having nearly died giving birth to her fifth child, she had refused to have another, but her husband “won’t leave [her] alone.” The women leave the bar to a chorus of “good night(s)” reminiscent of Ophelia’s farewell speech in Hamlet.

The fire cermon

Tiresias describes the scene on the river Thames in the autumn season. The river is now deserted. There are only vestages of summer parties, when rich businessmen held picnics on the river banks. The pollution of the river stands for spiritual degeneration of the modern man and his civilization. As the protagonist stands on the river bank, he hears the merry sounds of London crowds and the sounds of motor horns, calling girls to their lovers. London is an unreal city full of sexual perversion. The man of business and commerce Mr. Eugenides has come to London. He is interested in enjoying sex relationship in the hotel.

      In the evening, when the typist girl comes home from the office, she waits for her lover. He comes after dinner and enjoys with the girl. The girl is indifferent but feels relieved after the sex act. It is the kind of animal-like sex which modern young men and women have.

Death by water:

The shortest section of the poem, “Death by Water” describes a man, Phlebas the Phoenician, who has died, apparently by drowning. In death he has forgotten his worldly cares as the creatures of the sea have picked his body apart. The narrator asks his reader to consider Phlebas and recall his or her own mortality.

What the Thunder said

The poem closes with the repetition of the three words the thunder said, which again mean: "Give, show compassion, and control yourself." These are Eliot's final words of advice to his audience, and it's advice he wants us to follow if we're going to have any hope of moving forward.

In this part here is a concept of brihad aranyaka upnishad   

Da:Damayanta 

When God ask to brahma and said that to teach them some good words brahma said DA God take this meaning like damayanta  to staying controlled so say your mind to  control your emotions as well as your anger also.

Da:Datta 

When human ask to lord brahma to give some good words prajapati said the word DA then as per understanding of human being the take these words as to be a giver. Because humans are so greedy so as per their understanding  DA  means datta means to became a giver. 

Da:dayadhavam

When a demons asked to brahma to say some words the prajapti gives same answer Da  as per demons understanding it means that to be compassionate  because demons are very cruel towards the all being  keep nature with compassion. 

Here it can be said that there is repetition  of the word DA but meaning is not same it has diffrant meaning.

Conclusion

As to sum up it I seen that this poem has autobiographical elements, mythical technique and allusion is also there which create complexity  to understand  the poem. 

AN OVERVIEW ON TRANSDENTALISM

Introduction 

stream of consciousness, narrative technique in nondramatic fiction intended to render the flow of myriad impressions—visual, auditory, physical, associative, and subliminal—that impinge on the consciousness of an individual and form part of his awareness along with the trend of his rational thoughts. The term was first used by the psychologist William James in The Principles of Psychology (1890). As the psychological novel developed in the 20th century, some writers attempted to capture the total flow of their characters’ consciousness, rather than limit themselves to rational thoughts. To represent the full richness, speed, and subtlety of the mind at work, the writer incorporates snatches of incoherent thought, ungrammatical constructions, and free association of ideas, images, and words at the pre-speech level.

Founder of stream of consciousness 

Stream  of  consciousness is  founded by Sir William James  he used this term  in, 

 the principle  of psychology. 

Major figure  of stream of consciousness:

(1)Virginia  Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s famous novel Mrs. Dalloway follows a middle-aged society woman throughout her day, following the main character’s thoughts in interior monologue. She is considered the pioneer of the stream of consciousness narrative technique and also wrote To the Lighthouse and A Room of One’s Own. Her works are highly poetic and were considered very experimental at the time.

(2) James Joyce :

Irish novelist, poet, and short-story writer James Joyce is called one of the most influential 20th-century writers. His novel Ulysses is a perfect example of stream of consciousness writing, following the encounters of Leopold Bloom as he goes about a typical day in Dublin. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is another famous work that many believe is a bit of a self-portrait of Joyce’s own thoughts.

(3).William Faulkner :

Perhaps one of the most significant American writers, William Faulkner, wrote about the old South and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 for his work. His fourth novel, The Sound and the Fury, depicts the stream of consciousness in one of its four sections, where Quentin Compson, one of the main characters, details his thoughts before committing suicide.

(4)William James:

Most famous for his 1,200-page work The Principles of Psychology, psychologist William James explores what makes up the stream of thought in the human being. He is credited with coining the term stream of consciousness, and though he did not write fiction works in this field, he did give the English language a new literary term.

(5)Dorothy Richardson

Dorothy Richardson was a middle-class woman from a suburb of Oxford. She began her writing career with essays and journalistic pieces for magazines, and her work, Pilgrimage, Richardson shows the internal monologue of her character. The work spans three novels and follows a central character, Miriam Henderson, modelled on the author’s own life story.

(6)Henry James

American and British author Henry James helped create the transition between realism and modernism with his writing around the turn of the 20th century. He used the stream of consciousness technique in portions of The Portrait of a Lady. Henry James was the brother of William James, who coined the term.

(7)Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust was ahead of his time with the use of stream of consciousness, which shows up in his novel series In Search of Lost Time, published between 1913 and 1927. Though not a perfect example, this novel shows the internal thoughts of characters regularly and sets the stage for what would become a more common literary technique in the future.

(8)T.S. Eliot

The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem by T.S. Eliot uses a stream of consciousness to tell the narrator’s thoughts. By employing the point of view of Prufrock, Eliot is able to show just how disjointed and unclear his thought process is. The reader feels that the poem is slightly confusing, but that is because the way the human mind jumps from thought to thought is also disjointed.

(9)Samuel Beckett:

In his trilogy that includes Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable, Samuel Beckett employs stream of consciousness writing. Unfortunately, the plots of these stories are fairly weak because the writer’s primary goal is to keep the narration going to show the character’s thoughts

(10)Toni Morrison:

Toni Morrison wrote often on slavery, and Beloved is one of her novels that uses stream of consciousness. While the technique is not used in the entire novel, she uses it expertly in one of the last chapters as she intermingles the thoughts of three of the characters into one tangled mess. The modern African-American novelist often wrote of the difficulties faced by black Americans.

Characteristics  of stream of consciousness :

Syntax  and grammar :

Stream of consciousness writing does not usually follow ordinary rules of grammar and syntax This is because thoughts are often not fully formed, or they change course in the middle and become "run-on sentences," or they are interrupted by another thought.

Association:

These are the most prominent characteristics of the term. In this term most writers use this . As it is seen in Virginia Woolf’s  novel The Orlando:A biography  in this novel Virginia takes thought of her own. What is her thought about character? In fact this is a biography  of her own relation with vita sackville and it is also the life journey of vita. Association thought seems to be random ; this is not factual information  about the  character.

Repetition :

In  this term writer used repetition many of thoughts  and sentences are used  repeated words and phrases are used as signpost.

Use of punctuation  marks

writers of stream of consciousness often use punctuation in unconventional ways (using italics, ellipses, dashes, and line breaks to indicate pauses and shifts in the character's train of thought).

Stream of  consciousness  in works of writers

The term stream of consciousness  is used in many of writer's  works like Tony Morrison, T.S Eliot, Virginia Woolf  and many others.

Stream of consciousness  in beloved

In the novel beloved Morrison doesn't  use proper capitalization,  proper punctuation marks. She simply inserted gaps between  the sentences. She also makes use of repetition.  She repeated  many words like I am not dead that are frequently  used in the novel.

Stream of consciousness in Mrs. Dalloway  by woolf

Virginia Woolf is known for using stream of consciousness in her writing. The novel Mrs. Dalloway follows the thoughts, experiences, and memories of several characters on a single day in London.

Conclusion :

To sum up it can be said that  the term stream  of consciousness  gives the writer or poet freedom to express their thoughts  and experiences  towards the novel. This term is also give new identity to English literature. 

Works cited :

Study. Com

Britannica. Com