The Aesthetics of Wonder: New Findings in Sanskrit Alankarasastra

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Item Code: IDF912
Author: A.V.Subramanian
Publisher: MOTILAL BANARSIDASS DELHI
Language: English
Edition: 1987
ISBN: 8120804449
Pages: 236
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 9.0" X 5.5"
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Book Description
About The Book:

Creative writers everywhere harness the sense of wonder to secure readers' attention, to spice the inevitable duller passages, to enhance the readability of their works; Sanskrit poets have made a prolific use of wonder to secure these and many more objectives with conspicuous success.

But, surprisingly, little work has been done on the aesthetics of wonder; the writers on Sanskrit poetics have had little to say about this most attractive sensation This work examines, in great depth, the excitants of the sense of wonder and the various purposes for which poets harness it and presents the concepts, for the first time in the history of Sanskrit aesthetics, embellished with delectable examples delectable examples drawn from the whole of Sanskrit literature. The crowning achievement of the author is the startlingly new discovery about the nature and the role played by wonder, which will revolutionize the existing concept of the sensation

. The most attractive and unusual feature of the book is the high readability achieved through a scintillating style of presentation distinguished by sparkling wit and homour. An epoch-making book which scholars and lay lovers of literature alike would love to read.

About The Author:

A.V Subramanian (born1924) served as a Senior Officer of the Indian railways in the Personnel and the Accounts Departments and retired as Additional general Manager. The prime interest and guiding force of his life has been the pursuit of Sanskrit and Tamil literature, which he loves to read write and speak about. He has written over forty books, which have established him as a highly original writer commanding an unusually bright and interesting style of presentation. The more notable among his works are The Sanskrit plays on the Rama theme, the Unity of sentiment in Sanskrit plays, and the Innovative genius of Bhavabhuti, in Sanskrit aesthetics and A Fine Excess of Poetic Sentiment and focus on the Speaker in the field of Tamil aesthetics. He is now working on the Rasa theory in Sanskrit and expects to come out with some startingly new concepts on the fundamental groundwork of Sanskrit aesthetics.

As a speaker, he has toured USA, Canada and UK thrice, captivating his audiences by the depth of his conceptual range and the sparkle of his presentation. He has been invited to deliver endowment lectures by Indian Universities and scholarly bodies

CONTENTS



Perfacev
1. WHAT WE KNOW OFWONDER TODAY1
2. THE EXCITANTS OF THE SENSE OF WONDER7
2.1Supernatural Occurrences8
2.2Surprise twists in the plot10
2.3Unique, even perverse reactions ofcharacters12
2.4excessive reaction to stimulus17
2.5Extraordinary displays of personal qualities21
2.6Exorbitant cliaims25
2.7A new twist to an old concept29
2.8An arrestingly different principle developed-radically different from popular concepts31
2.9An unexpected sequel toa step taken38
2.10A statement made in juxtaposition with another conveys a startlingly different meaning43
2.11A perverse reversl of ethical standards47
2.12presenting good and virtuous conduct as bad or ineffective 50
2.13Adisplay of audacity, a cheerful disregard ofpublic prejudices52
2.14Mind-boggling, larger-than-life portraits54
2.15Superimposing human foibles on birds and animals57
2.16presentingsome sophisticated act requiring human skill, initiative and ingenuity ashaving beenperfomed by other than human agency59
2.17Spurt of admiration for a character from another 61
2.18Use of a device or measure designed for a purpose for a starlingly different purpose65
2.19Underplaying a thing of value tomakeanother appear more significant66
2.20The neat but unexpected waya problem gets solved69
2.21Instituting startingly unusual comparisons71
2.22Stark contrasts too can occasion surprise74
2.23Normal, intelligent people acting absurdly under theurge of overpowering emotions77
2.24When psychology is harnesed in a unique way to achieve a desired end79
2.25The sudden realization that thecauseofall the trouble to which one is subject is oneself, no other81
2.26Accomplishing mighty things with very unpromising implements83
2.27Things appear startlingly different when the angle of vision or point offocus changes85
2.28Postulating surprising new causes for known phenomena of nature89
2.29Striking gradation through which are fashioned new techniques with which to measure intangibles91
2.30Registering consternation at one's own great misfortune or cupidity93
2.31Clever sophistry, specious arguments, cunning reasoning96
2.32Deriving a general principal from an all-too-inadequate number of cases and applying it universally with amusing results98
2.33A quick and smart retort, paying the offender in the same coin; Clever saucy dialogue100
2.34Relating, in startling manner, present experience of individuals to a tradition, a myth, a classical concept102
2.35Neighbouring pastures greener, in some cases, startlingly so 104
2.36Unbelievable, inexcusable bungling evoking startled surprise105
2.37In a world given over to diplomatic euphemism, a blunt piece of straight-talking, a bland mouthing of the brutal truth may cause surprise106
2.38Confusion worse confounded108
2.39Presenting a thing of significance in deprecatory terms 110
2.40Consciously saying the opposite to secure a better effect through surprise112
2.41Bizarre fancies, grand delusions,singular self-deception114
2.42Giving eloquent, unambiguous expressionto one's innermost thoughts without the aid of words115
2.43Somthing happens that should not have happened andit is contemplated with disbelief, surprise and sorrow 116
2.44Raising a thing to a high level only to drop it to the ground, blowing up a thing to outsize to burst it to smithereens117
2.45Adroit verbal tricks119
2.46The same thing being different things to people in diverse situations121
2.47Applying double standards122
2.48Displayof accurate knowledge in a back-ground of widespread popular misconceptions123
2.49Unique relationships, unusual bargains with God124
2.50relative notions of time126
2.51Getting badly trounced by the very thing that was expected to save127
2.52One man's meat turns out to be another's poison, starlinglyin some cases128
2.53The damming up of strong emotions and the bursting of the dam128
2.54Drawing a conclusion from material which seemingly suggests the very oposite130
2.55Steps taken against deeply held preferences fail, leading to joy unbounded131
2.56Making much of a thing, unbridled exag-geration132
2.57The surprising perseverence of a character in an illusion135
2.58With vaulting ambition goes a frailty of heart, causing surprise twice over136
2.59small factors used to create a smokescreen to conceal a significant fault137
2.60people unknowwingly working at cross purposes with surprisingly hilarious consequences138
2.61Startling mental state on waking up from illusions 139
2.62When road-blocks startlingly turn out to be stepping stones141
2.63The simultaneous advocacy of two radically opposed concepts142
2.64Cause operating at a point and effect apearing at another143
2.65Cause judged as inadequate for the scale of the effect144
2.66The discovery of complexities in things regarded as simple and straight-forward145
2.67A comples medley of emotions,some running counter to other, rarely found subsisting in a single human breast together147
2.68solid reliance on sandy foundations, on vague,shadowy insubstaitials148
2.69What looked bad initially proves good and what looked good proves bad in the sequel, evoking surprise through misappraised values 149
2.70Where misunderstanding is mutual and total 151
2.71A thing paraded as something much bigger or better, causing surprise bythe clever presentation152
2.72Pride expresed at things not regarded as worthy of it152
2.71Excess is in such abundance, it can over-fulfil want, creating an excess wherever it operates155
3THE LITERARY BENEFITS ACCURING FROM WONDER157
3.1The essence of all creative art is a freshness, a strangeness which is the mother of surprise157
3.2Wonder opens up the mind of the reader159
3.3Wonder helps to secure attention159
3.4Wonder makes for greater credibility, lubri-cating the transfer of experience162
3.5Banal everyday objects and sequences acquire a new capacity to interest through surprise165
3.6Surprise being dynamic activates aesthetic enjoyment 168
3.7Wonder help poet to effect change of direction in a natural andaesthetically acceptable fashion 173
3.8Wonder brightens the narrative, it lights up the dull patches178
3.9Man, atavistically, accords the highest priority to surprise-evoking stimuli180
3.10Certain elements of surprise born of audacity, perversity, iconoclasm can purvey vicarious delight181
3.11Surprise, the prime constituent of Jagannatha's 'beyond-the-world' concept182
3.12Surprise enables the portrayal of a fine excess of sentiment185
3.13Surprise engenders puzzlement which challenges themind and engagesit, furnishing delight188
3.14Surprise furnishes a magic attic for us to escape into from the troubled world we live in 189
4LIGHT FROM MODERN SCIENCE191
4.1The two fresh thinkers191
4.2Light from Neuro-psychology192
4.3The concept of moderately discrepant stimuli193
4.4The theory of Moderate Discrepancy194
4.5The poets' problem196
4.6Evils of over-evocation of wonder 197
4.7Wonder, nota sentiment198
4.8Proving the phase difference between wonder and the sentiments200
4.9A second example201
4.10Wonder, basically different from the sentiments204
Select Bibliography207
Index of Slokas209
Subject Index217

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