The present work is concerned with some important issues of Imaginative literature and has made their critical and comparative study from Indian and European points of view. The issue are (1) nature of Imaginatve literature, (2) ARt as mimesis, (3) Rasa and Beauty, (4) the purposes and functions of Kavya (5) the language of literature and (6) drama as a Literature genre.
It has been shown here that the soul of imaginative literature is Rasa. In the chapter on ARt as mimesis' several meanings of imitation from 'bare coping' to 'creative activity' have been brought out.
In a separate chapter the book exhaustively deals with the three powers of word viz., Abidha, Laksana and Vyanjana which have been enalysed and compared with the European view of Language and its different powers. The problem of communication between the writer and the readers and the role of language in this context have been throughly discussed. A detailed study of style has also been made here.
While making a study of drama it has been shown why tragedy grew in the West and why it did not find congenial soul in India.
The book is a definite contribution to the study of Comparative Aesthetics inasmuch as it brings out the points of agreement and difference between the Aestheticians of India and those of Europe. For those who are interested in a general theory of Aesthetics on either side of the world, this book with its exhaustive bibliography at the end will go a long way to serve their purpose. |
