Re-Visiting Shakespeare: A Study of King Lear in the Light of Bharatmuni s Rasa Theory

Transcription

1 Re-Visiting Shakespeare: A Study of King Lear in the Light of Bharatmuni s Rasa Theory Rashmeet Kour PhD Research Scholar, Department of English, Jammu University (J&K) ABSTRACT The present paper contributes to the literature on rasa theory propounded by Bharatamuni by closely examining Shakespeare s King Lear. The theory of rasa is encapsulated in chapter sixth of Natyashastra thus: The sentiment is produced (rasanispattih) from a combination (samyoga) of Determinants (vibhava), consequents (anubhava) and transitory states (vyabhicarins). Bharata lists forty one mental states, out of which there are eight permanent irreducible mental states which alone can develop into full-fledged aesthetic moods. They are rati (love), hasya (laughter), soka (sorrow), krodha (anger), vira (courage), bhaya (fear), jugupsa (aversion), and ascharya (wonder). The eight corresponding rasas are Sringara, Hasya, Karuna, Raudra, Veera, Bhaya, Bibhatsa and Adbhuta respectively. The remaining transient emotions only act as attendant feelings to the basic emotions helping to intensify and stabilize it. The paper adds a new dimension by focusing on the soliloquies, i.e., akashvachana (speaking to the sky), atmagata (speaking to oneself), apavaritaka (concealed speech) and janantika (personal address) concluding with an examination of the dominant state (sthayibhava) that prevails throughout the play. Keywords: Bharatmuni, Emotions, King Lear, Rasa Theory, Shakespeare. ACT 1 RASA THEORY AND KING LEAR In the opening scene, the old King Lear is determined to abjure all his official responsibilities so he decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. Although he has already made the divisions, he wants to hear from each one of them how much they love him. Lear is quite chuffed (vyabhicaribhava of joy or harsa) by the honey eyed words of his two daughters Goneril and Regan and he rewards them with a large portion of his kingdom. Finally the youngest daughter Cordelia is asked to profess her love for her father. But Cordelia, whose asides (atmagata), What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent (62) and Then poor Cordelia! / And yet not so; since I am sure my love s / More ponderous than my tongue (77-79) express the transitory emotional state of anxiety (cinta), replies patently Nothing, my lord (87). Lear is shocked and agitated (vyabhicarin) ( explosive reactionˮ) (Linley) at this display of ingratitude by Cordelia, Nothing will come of nothing speak again (90) because he was expecting much more from his darling daughter. But Cordelia s constant refusal umbrages Lear, at the same time, evoking the abiding emotion of (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha). Depression (dainya), shock and dejection are the secondary emotional states (vyabhicaribhavas) aroused in King Lear when he says, But goes thy heart with this? [...] So young, and so untender? ( ). culminating into raudra (anger) rasa and he retracts the remaining part of the kingdom dividing it equally between Goneril and Regan. As for himself, he will stay with Goneril and Regan by turns for a month and will reserve for his service a hundred knights displaying the secondary emotional state of arrogance (garva). Kent, on the other hand, courageously tries to meddle between the Dragon and his wrath (122) arousing vira (heroism) rasa along with the floating emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of contentment (dhriti) but the old King is unrelenting and enraged under the spell of the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha) accompanied by the floating emotion of cruelty (ugrata) and arrogance (garva) banishes him. Meanwhile with heavy heart and misty eyes (sattvikabhava of tears or asva), Cordelia takes leave of her sisters. She calls upon them to take good care of her their father whom she would have never entrusted to them, had the situation been not the same stimulating karuna (pathetic) rasa accompanied by the involuntary mental state (sattvikabhava) of tears (arsu) and the secondary emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) indignation (amarsa), revulsion (nirveda) and engulfed with sadness and dejection. Vol: I. Issue LVII, November

2 According to Stanley Cavell, She (Cordelia) is not disgusted by her sister s flattery (it s nothing new); but heart-broken at hearing the words she wishes she were in a position to say. So she is sent, and taken, away (293). Scene 2 opens in the Earl of Gloucester s castle where Edmund reveals his feelings of discontent and his plan to usurp Edgar s position, the bastard son, in a soliloquy (akashvachana), invoking the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha) and under the secondary emotions (vyabhcaribhavas) of envy (asuya) calls upon goddess Nature whom he worships to stand by him in his pursuit to find justice to his legitimacy by putting forward arguments that he has been a sufferer of evil custom prevailing in society which deprives him of his rights as enjoyed by his elder brother, Edgar merely because he (Edmund) is a love child not born of wedlock. Edmund tries to dodge Gloucester when he enters and finds him hiding a letter desperately in his pocket. The seemingly suspicious behavior of his bastard son triggers the transitory emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of suspicion (sanka) in Gloucester and makes him even more curious to know about that piece of paper. After going through the contents of the letter supposedly written by Edgar that mentions of a plan to overthrow the age-old custom of respecting the old people enrages (vyabhicaribhava), Gloucester is not able to come to terms with the very thought of treachery by his own son and departs with a feeling of sadness and dejection (vyabhicaribhavas) and the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of grief (soka). In scene 3 the inappropriate behavior of her father and his knights vexes Goneril displaying the secondary emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of anger (krodha) and indignation (amarsa) and she decides not to talk to her father as he returns from hunting. To give more solid footing to her plan, she instructs Oswald and his companions to be negligent in carrying out Lear s orders by putting on fatigue look and an attitude of carelessness and lethargy displaying dissimulation (secondary emotional state of avahittha) producing the transitory emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of cruelty (ugrata) and triggering disgust (jugupsa) in the minds of the readers. In scene 4, Goneril appears and on learning that one of her servants had been hit by Lear and Caius (Kent) displays the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha). Denominating Goneril as a detested kite, (259) Lear in a volcanic outburst, arousing the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha), curses her. Obviously his rage is a sure marker of his disappointment in his daughter which makes him shed his hot tears (295) (sattvikabhava of tears or arsu) and the old man is ashamed that Goneril should have the power to shake his manhood. King Lear is seen making arrangements to leave Goneril s place and shift to Regan s palace expecting better treatment in scene 5. For an instant he regrets having done injustice to Cordelia displaying the secondary emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of shame (vrida) stimulating the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of grief (soka) which is intensified by Fool s sarcasm. ACT 2 Kent who is already having an unpleasant experience with Oswald starts abusing him invoking the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha), the temperamental state (sattvikabhava) of change of voice (svara-sada) accompanied by the secondary emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of inconstancy (capalata) and manifesting itself as raudra (anger) rasa. At this stage, Edmund enters with his daggers drawn and somehow the two are parted. Cornwall enquires about the causes of quarrel. Kent, without showing any self-restraint, uses the same rough and filthy language about Oswald, you cowardly rascal and a tailor made thee (51-52) once again displaying the transitory emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of anger (krodha). In spite of Cornwall asking him to be silent, he impatiently and arrogantly continues Oswald s censure and turning to him he challenges him in a threatening way again manifesting itself as raudra (anger) rasa along with the secondary emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of cruelty (ugrata). His erratic behavior makes Cornwall very much annoyed who orders to punish him by putting him into stocks displaying arrogance (garva) and cruelty (ugrata). However, Cornwall, without paying any attention to Gloucester s appeals, gives no consideration to his advice and persists with his decision explicitly portraying arrogance (garva). Finally Kent is subjected to humiliation by putting him in stocks. Scene 3 is followed by a soliloquy (janatika) by Edgar whereby it is learnt that Edgar, because of a series of adverse circumstances and consequently action being taken against him, has been proclaimed as an outlaw. In a state of utter confusion and hopelessness, displaying the secondary emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of revulsion (nirveda), anguish (glani) and dissimulation (avahittha), he decides to be disguised as a Bedlam beggar. On the other hand, Lear finds himself coughed up and uneasy in the present situation generating the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of grief (soka) accompanied by the transitory emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of anguish (glani) which concentrates as upon enquiring about his daughter, Regan, he is informed by Gloucester that she and her husband being tired on account of long travel, do not feel like meeting him right then. An enraged (sthayibhava of krodha or anger) Lear asks Gloucester to call them immediately and urgently while at the same time expressing his sadness and dejection (vyabhicaribhavas). He utters curses upon Goneril (sthayibhava of krodha or anger) to which Regan strongly resents displaying arrogance (garva). Regan reminds him that he is no more a powerful man and has no credibility left. So he doesn t deserve any importance and that right now she is not in a position to keep him in her house exhibiting the secondary emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of arrogance (garva) and cruelty (ugrata). Lear is left in a state of utter shock (vyabhicaribhava). With a sense of grief (soka) (sthayibhava) and repentance he reiterates firmly his decision not to go back to Goneril. Overruled with emotions and triggering karuna (pathetic) rasa along with the transitory emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of sadness and dejection, he says: LEAR. I prethee, daughter, do not make me mad. I will not trouble thee, my child. Farewell. We ll no more meet, no more see one another. ( ) Lear, in a state of utter desperation and fury does not know where to go. The two sisters don t feel like asking him not to go even though they know that a fearful storm is going to engulf the place in no time and for long distances there is hardly any shelter. Instead, Regan says that let the doors of the castle be closed and let him (Lear) suffer for his stupidity and follies furthering karuna (pathetic) rasa. William Rosen observes: Vol: I. Issue LVII, November

3 Certainly one source of Lear s torment is the shock of discovering that those whom he loves most are his worst enemies and unworthy of his love. His mind is torn apart because he cannot believe that the apparent falseness of Goneril and Regan is reality, and that what is reality can be so hideously monstrous. At the same time thoughts of ingratitude and unkindness also combine to force Lear into madness (24). ACT 3 The conversation between Kent and gentleman in scene 1 reveals that a conflict is actually initiated between Cornwall and Albany to compete for the throne and to deal with the situation the French king has positioned his army at proper places in the country ready to take over anytime. In scene 2, Lear urges thunder to knock down the earth with all its force and root out all origins that lead to the making of the most selfish creature- the man culminating itself into Karuna (pathetic) rasa along with the transitory emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of insanity (unmada), revulsion (nirveda), anguish (glani) and depression (dainya) and agitation (avega). However, Kent finally succeeds to persuade him to take refuge in a nearby hovel. While moving along he speaks in a soliloquy (janatika) about the arrival of a time when most unusual things would happen, creating chaos and confusion all over. In scene 3, Gloucester tells Edmund that he actually wishes to help out Lear and stand by him in his hard and distressed time as he doesn t want to lose his goodwill displaying the floating emotion (vyabhicaribhava) contentment (dhriti) lest he (Lear) should again come to power. But at the same time he fears (secondary emotional state or vyabhicaribhava) Cornwall s wrath and also he doesn t want to offend him either. Now Gloucester leaves the scene. Edmund, keeping note of everything, decides to betray his father. In a soliloquy (apavaritaka) he says that he shall reveal all these secret developments to Cornwall to win his faith. This will help him a long way in reaching out to his aspirations. In scene 4, murmuring to himself, Lear expresses his anxiety (cinta), inconstancy (capalata), anguish (glani) and distraction (moha), actually not able to digest the behavior of his daughters who did not bother to take care of him in that dreadful night. Right then Fool comes running out of the hovel in a state of panic and tells them that there is a ghost inside stimulating bhayanaka (fear) rasa which is, however, only of a short duration as it is found that the so-called ghost is no one else than Edgar, who in the vain quest of finding some solace in the wild storm, had entered that deserted place and taken refuge there as a helpless poor beggar. As Lear goes on speaking, Tom goes on murmuring. His pathetic state and nonsense talk induces Lear take off his clothes, tearing them apart out of utter frustration saying that Man is nothing more than an animal and as such he has no right to wear clothes made out of the skins of other animals invoking karuna (pathetic) rasa. So, to conceal his identity he deliberately continues talking nonsense that he has nothing to eat but the swimming frog (123), the tadpole, the wall-newt (124) cow-dung for sallets; swallows the old rats and the ditch-dog (126) arousing bibhatsa (disgust) rasa in the minds of the readers. Emma Smith observes: In the storm scene Lear is at his most powerful and, despite moral considerations, at his noblest; the image of man hopelessly confronting a hostile universe and withstand it only by his inherent powers of rage, endurance and perpetual questioning, is perhaps the most purely ʻtragic in Shakespeare (qtd. in Shakespeare s Tragedies 64). In scene 6, Lear curses (sthayibhava of anger or krodha) his daughters by calling upon gods that they be burned in the fire of hell and beaten with red-hot rods. Then there starts a mock-trial explicitly portraying Lear s insanity (unmada) and depression (dainya). The first one to be tried is Goneril, who is charged with the crime of hitting the king. Then follows the trial of second daughter Regan. According to Lear, her wickedness is reflected in her mean and selfish looks. He appeals to the judges not to spare her. But the very next moment he says that Regan has already escaped the court. Seeing his plight, Edgar says to himself (atmagata) that Lear s sufferings have moved him very much stimulating karuna (pathetic) rasa. The next moment, Gloucester returns back with the news that a conspiracy is being hatched to kill the King. He says that the Lear is to be removed to a safer place and that too at the earliest displaying the transitory emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of anxiety (cinta). Thus, Fool and Kent lift the sleeping Lear on a small carriage and leave for Dover except Edgar, who, under the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of grief (soka) says in a soliloquy (janantika) says that it is very difficult for him to see his superiors suffering like anything. In scene 7, Oswald comes with the news that Lear has been driven to the port of Dover for his safety and the mastermind of this operation is Gloucester who himself has been instrumental getting the things done. After a while, Cornwall s soldiers enter the scene with Gloucester captured as a prisoner. Following Cornwall s instructions, they bind him to a chair. Regan accuses him of helping out Lear, Ingrateful fox! tis he! (28), Hard, hard! O filthy traitor! (33), and So white, and such a traitor! (36) displaying the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha) and the secondary emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of cruelty (ugrata) and inflicts grave insult upon him by plucking his white beard (secondary emotion or vyabhicaribhava) of cruelty (ugrata) manifesting itself as raudra (anger) rasa and karuna (pathetic) rasa alternatively in the readers who feel intimidated by Regan at the same time deeply moved at the treatment meted out to Gloucester. Giving no ears to his arguments, Cornwall screws out one of Gloucester s eye with his spiked shoe, as he (Gloucester) lays helpless held captive by soldiers inciting karuna (pathetic) rasa, bibhatsa (disgust) rasa and traces of bhayanaka (fear) rasa in the reader. Most of the critics agree on the element of karuna (pathetic) but bibhatsa (disgust) and bhayanaka (fear) can also be traced in the above incident and cannot be ignored. According to Dieter Mehl: Again, as earlier in the play, the horror of the relentless hatred is softened by a simple human gesture of compassion and a feeling of what is right, and again it is the subordinate servants who preserve their integrity where all familiar loyalties are despised [...] a servant sacrifices his own life to protect him and becomes an instrument of retribution (97). Then Cornwall, in order to ascertain that Gloucester is not able to see anymore wrong done to him, decides to make him completely blind producing the secondary emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of cruelty (ugrata) and so ejects out his other eye also leaving him in a world of utter darkness. He cries out of pain and in that condition calls for his son Edmund asking him to take revenge of this barbaric and horrifying act by Cornwall intensifying karuna (pathetic) rasa. But to his utter shock (vyabhicaribhava), Regan tells him that it has been Edmund only who has disclosed the unlawful, secret activities of him to Cornwall generating the involuntary mental state (sattvikabhava) of paralysis (stambha) in Gloucester. Hearing this, Gloucester now repents over his follies having discarded and Vol: I. Issue LVII, November

4 disowned Edgar merely by believing what Edmund told him. Now Regan orders her servants to push that old, blind man out of the gates and let him find his way to Dover simply by smelling the path displaying the floating emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) cruelty (ugrata), and arrogance (garva). Act 4 In a soliloquy (janantika) Edgar, overcome by the dominant emotion (sthayibhava) of grief (soka) says that destiny has put him in such a miserable condition and it is not possible that there can be a position worse than that. Suddenly he is taken aback (vyabhicaribhava) to see his father led by an old man at the same time generating the secondary emotions (vyabhicaribhavas) of sadness and dejection. Gloucester tells the old man that his life has become meaningless. He has no desires left. It doesn t make any difference to him whether anybody helps him or not explicitly evoking the transitory emotional states (vyabhicaribhavas) of recollection (smriti), revulsion (nirveda), distraction (moha), sadness and yearning and the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of sorrow (soka) culminating itself into karuna (pathetic) rasa. Gloucester enquires from him the way to the port of Dover. Edgar, in the tone of a madman replies that he certainly does. He asks Edgar to lead him to the top rock on the edge of sea and thereafter he needs no guide as he intends to put an end to his aimless life by taking the fatal jump from there. Dieter Mehl puts it: Gloucester s despair, underscored by his attempted suicide, is clearly contrasted with Lear s doubts about his own identity and his insistence on his right, pursued to the point of madness. In the context of the play, Gloucester represents an attitude of simple superstition collapsing completely under such extreme stress (98). In scene 2, as a gesture of love Goneril presents Edmund some gift and this way clearly indicates that she is in love with him triggering sringara (pathetic) rasa as Priyadarshi Patnaik, emphasizing on the congenial environment for love, says,... if two evil persons are truly in love, then there is no evil in that love [...] (73). After Edmund is gone, Goneril in an aside (atmagata), feeling envious (asuya), says that there is a lot of difference between Edmund and her husband (Albany). The former deserves all the favors of a woman whereas the latter is a fool whom she has been wedded to and who relishes sharing her bed without being worthy of it. Now enters Albany. He pointedly remarks, with an analogy to a tree, that a branch ready to cut off itself from the trunk which nurtures it by supplying all the material nutrients essential to its growth, is bound to perish invoking the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha) along with the transitory emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of contentment (dhriti). Goneril, on the other hand, displays arrogance (garva) (vyabhicaribhava) and remains unaffected. She calls Albany a Milk-Livered man! (50) who, at this crucial hour when French army is camping across their kingdom and is likely to take over any time, is just delivering moral lessons and nothing less arousing the dominant emotion (sthayibhava) of anger (krodha). Meanwhile in scene 3, Kent enquires from the gentleman that if he knows the reason why the French King has to leave back suddenly for his country projecting the transitory emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of doubt (sanka). The gentleman tells him (the French King) that he had some unfinished task left back home and that too of utmost importance keeping in view the safety of the country. He further tells him that upon going through the letters; Cordelia was shocked and grieving stimulating the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of grief (soka) in her. She couldn t help tears, stimulating the abiding emotion (sattvikabhava) of tears (arsu), rolling down her cheeks though she tried badly to conceal her grief by wiping them off and trying to smile. The Gentleman s account triggers karuna (pathetic) rasa in the minds of the readers. In the cliff scene, Gloucester gets under the impression that he has fallen to beach but then he becomes a bit suspicious, finding himself to be still alive presenting the abiding emotion (sthayibhava) of sorrow (soka) and transitory emotion of anxiety (cinta) and apprehension (sanka). Helping him get up from the ground, Edgar says that it has been, indeed, a miraculous escape for him having survived that deadly fall. This cliff scene has a healing effect on the mind of the readers as it diverts the attention from the previous intense and worrisome scenes and thus evokes laughter which manifests itself as hasya (laughter) rasa. Dieter Mehl finely puts it: Edgar s disguise and the way he deceives his father introduce an element of comedy and may remind us of related situations in very different contexts. (98) Lear now awakens, opens his eyes. In a state of total confusion, he calls Cordelia a spirit (49) and finally realizes that he is actually seeing and talking to no one else but his own, once lovable daughter, Cordelia. He is stormed with opposing emotions. On one side there is overwhelming joy of meeting his daughter and on the other, feeling of guilt of denouncing the same daughter once. His mental conflict is intensified further by the love and care rendered to him by Cordelia stimulating karuna rasa accompanied by the sattvikabhava of arsu or tears in Cordelia: LEAR. Be your tears wet? Yes, faith! I pray, weep not. If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me, for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong. You have some cause; they have not. (72-76) Act 5 Seeing Regan and Edmund together conversing with each other, Goneril becomes apprehensive (sanka) (vyabhicarin). In an aside (atmagata), she decides that she would rather prefer to be defeated in the battlefield than to be so in the game of love and never allow her sister Regan to snatch away her love (Edmund) at any cost generating the transitory emotional state (vyabhicarin) of envy (asuya). In scene 2, Edgar gets the heart-breaking news that the French forces have been defeated and that Cordelia and Lear are now in the custody of British army as war prisoners. Hearing this, Gloucester is completely shattered and a pal of gloom overtakes him triggering the abiding emotion of grief (soka). In scene 3, Lear projects his carelessness over the trail of ill events leading him to his Vol: I. Issue LVII, November

5 present position saying that he doesn t feel low-spirited for what destiny has in store for him but still eager to cherish some wonderful moments of life in the company of his darling, adorable daughter inside the prison triggering karuna (pathetic) rasa as can be noticed in Cordelia and the sattvikabhava (involuntary mental reaction) of weeping (arsu), when Lear says: Wipe thine eyes; / The good years shall devour them, flesh and fell, / Ere they shall make us weep: we ll see em starv d first (22-25). Meanwhile, Regan s words favoring Edmund invokes Goneril s jealousy (asuya) and anger (krodha) (as the two sisters equally aspire to marry Edmund) who charges Regan of showing false favors to Edmund. This way the two sisters are indulged in a war of words. Amidst these developments, Regan suddenly becomes unwell. As she complains of her sickness, Goneril, in an aside (atmagata) apparently, feels very much pleased as she has had poisoned Regan secretly. On the other hand, Edmund accepts the challenge and dares to fight a challenger. Again trumpets blow in response and amidst their sound enters the still disguised Edgar. He openly blames Edmund of treachery generating the secondary emotion (vyabhicaribhava) of contentment (dhriti). Then there starts the decisive bout. Gallantly they fight but ultimately Edmund falls to the ground, fatally injured. Edmund, left no hope to survive, confesses all his misdeeds, the crimes he has committed to empower himself. Then Edgar sorrowfully (abiding emotion or sthayibhava) tells that he had revealed his identity to his blind father minutes before he was preparing to fight with Edmund and suspended between the two extreme emotions, the joy of meeting his son, whom he had abandoned out of a misconception and the grief of mental and physical trauma he had undergone and the miserable circumstances he had to endure; Gloucester could not survive a cardiac arrest. This heart rending account culminates into karuna (pathetic) rasa in the readers accompanied by the secondary emotional feelings (vyabhicaribhavas) of sadness and dejection. At this moment enters a gentleman and breaks the news that Goneril has killed herself and before taking the extreme step, she has confessed the heinous crime committed by her, that of poisoning her sister, Regan. Now enters King Lear with the dead body of Cordelia in his arms. Overcome with grief (sthayibhava) and wailing over the dead body of his daughter, Lear has almost gone out of his wits (vyabhicaribhavas of insanity, sadness and dejection) arousing karuna (pathetic) rasa in the reader. Kent, Edgar and Albany express their shock followed by the dominant emotional state (sthayibhava) of grief (soka). So, Lear continues in that state of utter despair and shock and finally passes away stimulating karuna (pathetic) rasa. Drew Milne in his essay What becomes of the broken-hearted: King Lear and the Dissociation of Sensibility puts it rightly: To the end Lear is wracked by the violence of his passions, passions that finally overcome him, even if it is a wonder that he endures so much. His physical actions suggest that after all he has been through; Lear has still failed to become patient. Indications that he still has a body to support his powerful passions dramatize the heroic stature of Lear s renewed strength, adding pathos to his emotional state in his final moments (53-66) (qtd. in Shakespeare Survey 55). Albany and Edgar are now left alone to accomplish the uphill task of bringing back the harmony and prosperity to the kingdom. They leave the scene amidst the sound of funeral music. CONCLUSION: According to Harold Bloom in Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998): Suffering is the true mode of action in King Lear: we suffer with Lear and Gloucester, Cordelia and Edgar, and our suffering is not lessoned as, one by one, the evil are cut down: Cornwall, Oswald, Regan, Goneril, and finally Edmund. I think that Shakespeare allows us no choice but suffering, because Lear s immense (though waning) vitality possesses such a capacity for pathos from which we cannot exclude ourselves (505). Shakespeare s magnificent tragedy, King Lear, unfolds the story of an aging monarch, who invites disaster by dividing his kingdom between his two ungrateful daughters, giving importance to the recitation of their love for him and rejecting the honest one. The play is full of epic emotions- bhaya (fear), jugupsa (disgust), raudra (anger), vira (heroism), sringara (love), hasya (laughter)- which puts the readers into confusion regarding the predominance of a particular emotion. However, the dominance of karuna (pathetic) rasa or soka (grief) bhava in view of the sufferings meted out to him at the hands of his loved ones whom he trusted unconditionally cannot be ruled out. REFERENCES Bloom, Harold. (1998) Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, New York: Penguin Group. Cavell, Stanley. (2002) Must We Learn What We Say?: A Book of Essays, Rev. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Ghosh, Manmohan. (1950) Translated The Natyashastra: A Treatise on Ancient Indian Dramaturgy and Histrionics Ascribed to Bharatmuni, Vol. I. Calcutta: Asiatic Society. Linley, Keith. (2015) King Lear in Context: The Cultural Background, N.p.: Anthem P. Mehl, Dieter. (1986) Shakespeare s Tragedies: An Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Milne, Drew. (2007) What becomes of the broken-hearted: King Lear and the Dissociation of Sensibility in Shakespeare Survey: Volume 5, King Lear and Its Afterlife: An Annual Survey of Shakespeare Studies and Production, UK: Cambridge University Press. 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6 Patnaik, Priyadarshi. (1997) Rasa In Aesthetics: An Application of Rasa Theory to Modern Western Literature, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld. Rosen, William. (1960) The Craft of Shakespearean Tragedy, Cambridge: Harvard UP. Shakespeare, William. (2011) King Lear, Mumbai: Wilco Publishing House. Smith, Emma. (2013) Macbeth: Language and Writing, Bloomsbury: New York and London. Vol: I. Issue LVII, November