The Aesthetics of Wonder: New Findings in Sanskrit Alankarasastra

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by A.V.Subramanian

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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

		Perface	v
1.		WHAT WE KNOW OFWONDER TODAY	1
2.		THE EXCITANTS OF THE SENSE OF WONDER	7
	2.1	Supernatural Occurrences	8
	2.2	Surprise twists in the plot	10
	2.3	Unique, even perverse reactions ofcharacters	12
	2.4	excessive reaction to stimulus	17
	2.5	Extraordinary displays of personal qualities	21
	2.6	Exorbitant cliaims	25
	2.7	A new twist to an old concept	29
	2.8	An arrestingly different principle developed-radically different from popular concepts	31
	2.9	An unexpected sequel toa step taken	38
	2.10	A statement made in juxtaposition with another conveys a startlingly different meaning	43
	2.11	A perverse reversl of ethical standards	47
	2.12	presenting good and virtuous conduct as bad or ineffective	50
	2.13	Adisplay of audacity, a cheerful disregard ofpublic prejudices	52
	2.14	Mind-boggling, larger-than-life portraits	54
	2.15	Superimposing human foibles on birds and animals	57
	2.16	presentingsome sophisticated act requiring human skill, initiative and ingenuity ashaving beenperfomed by other than human agency	59
	2.17	Spurt of admiration for a character from another	61
	2.18	Use of a device or measure designed for a purpose for a starlingly different purpose	65
	2.19	Underplaying a thing of value tomakeanother appear more significant	66
	2.20	The neat but unexpected waya problem gets solved	69
	2.21	Instituting startingly unusual comparisons	71
	2.22	Stark contrasts too can occasion surprise	74
	2.23	Normal, intelligent people acting absurdly under theurge of overpowering emotions	77
	2.24	When psychology is harnesed in a unique way to achieve a desired end	79
	2.25	The sudden realization that thecauseofall the trouble to which one is subject is oneself, no other	81
	2.26	Accomplishing mighty things with very unpromising implements	83
	2.27	Things appear startlingly different when the angle of vision or point offocus changes	85
	2.28	Postulating surprising new causes for known phenomena of nature	89
	2.29	Striking gradation through which are fashioned new techniques with which to measure intangibles	91
	2.30	Registering consternation at one's own great misfortune or cupidity	93
	2.31	Clever sophistry, specious arguments, cunning reasoning	96
	2.32	Deriving a general principal from an all-too-inadequate number of cases and applying it universally with amusing results	98
	2.33	A quick and smart retort, paying the offender in the same coin; Clever saucy dialogue	100
	2.34	Relating, in startling manner, present experience of individuals to a tradition, a myth, a classical concept	102
	2.35	Neighbouring pastures greener, in some cases, startlingly so	104
	2.36	Unbelievable, inexcusable bungling evoking startled surprise	105
	2.37	In a world given over to diplomatic euphemism, a blunt piece of straight-talking, a bland mouthing of the brutal truth may cause surprise	106
	2.38	Confusion worse confounded	108
	2.39	Presenting a thing of significance in deprecatory terms	110
	2.40	Consciously saying the opposite to secure a better effect through surprise	112
	2.41	Bizarre fancies, grand delusions,singular self-deception	114
	2.42	Giving eloquent, unambiguous expressionto one's innermost thoughts without the aid of words	115
	2.43	Somthing happens that should not have happened andit is contemplated with disbelief, surprise and sorrow	116
	2.44	Raising a thing to a high level only to drop it to the ground, blowing up a thing to outsize to burst it to smithereens	117
	2.45	Adroit verbal tricks	119
	2.46	The same thing being different things to people in diverse situations	121
	2.47	Applying double standards	122
	2.48	Displayof accurate knowledge in a back-ground of widespread popular misconceptions	123
	2.49	Unique relationships, unusual bargains with God	124
	2.50	relative notions of time	126
	2.51	Getting badly trounced by the very thing that was expected to save	127
	2.52	One man's meat turns out to be another's poison, starlinglyin some cases	128
	2.53	The damming up of strong emotions and the bursting of the dam	128
	2.54	Drawing a conclusion from material which seemingly suggests the very oposite	130
	2.55	Steps taken against deeply held preferences fail, leading to joy unbounded	131
	2.56	Making much of a thing, unbridled exag-geration	132
	2.57	The surprising perseverence of a character in an illusion	135
	2.58	With vaulting ambition goes a frailty of heart, causing surprise twice over	136
	2.59	small factors used to create a smokescreen to conceal a significant fault	137
	2.60	people unknowwingly working at cross purposes with surprisingly hilarious consequences	138
	2.61	Startling mental state on waking up from illusions	139
	2.62	When road-blocks startlingly turn out to be stepping stones	141
	2.63	The simultaneous advocacy of two radically opposed concepts	142
	2.64	Cause operating at a point and effect apearing at another	143
	2.65	Cause judged as inadequate for the scale of the effect	144
	2.66	The discovery of complexities in things regarded as simple and straight-forward	145
	2.67	A comples medley of emotions,some running counter to other, rarely found subsisting in a single human breast together	147
	2.68	solid reliance on sandy foundations, on vague,shadowy insubstaitials	148
	2.69	What looked bad initially proves good and what looked good proves bad in the sequel, evoking surprise through misappraised values	149
	2.70	Where misunderstanding is mutual and total	151
	2.71	A thing paraded as something much bigger or better, causing surprise bythe clever presentation	152
	2.72	Pride expresed at things not regarded as worthy of it	152
	2.71	Excess is in such abundance, it can over-fulfil want, creating an excess wherever it operates	155
3		THE LITERARY BENEFITS ACCURING FROM WONDER	157
	3.1	The essence of all creative art is a freshness, a strangeness which is the mother of surprise	157
	3.2	Wonder opens up the mind of the reader	159
	3.3	Wonder helps to secure attention	159
	3.4	Wonder makes for greater credibility, lubri-cating the transfer of experience	162
	3.5	Banal everyday objects and sequences acquire a new capacity to interest through surprise	165
	3.6	Surprise being dynamic activates aesthetic enjoyment	168
	3.7	Wonder help poet to effect change of direction in a natural andaesthetically acceptable fashion	173
	3.8	Wonder brightens the narrative, it lights up the dull patches	178
	3.9	Man, atavistically, accords the highest priority to surprise-evoking stimuli	180
	3.10	Certain elements of surprise born of audacity, perversity, iconoclasm can purvey vicarious delight	181
	3.11	Surprise, the prime constituent of Jagannatha's 'beyond-the-world' concept	182
	3.12	Surprise enables the portrayal of a fine excess of sentiment	185
	3.13	Surprise engenders puzzlement which challenges themind and engagesit, furnishing delight	188
	3.14	Surprise furnishes a magic attic for us to escape into from the troubled world we live in	189
4		LIGHT FROM MODERN SCIENCE	191
	4.1	The two fresh thinkers	191
	4.2	Light from Neuro-psychology	192
	4.3	The concept of moderately discrepant stimuli	193
	4.4	The theory of Moderate Discrepancy	194
	4.5	The poets' problem	196
	4.6	Evils of over-evocation of wonder	197
	4.7	Wonder, nota sentiment	198
	4.8	Proving the phase difference between wonder and the sentiments	200
	4.9	A second example	201
	4.10	Wonder, basically different from the sentiments	204
		Select Bibliography	207
		Index of Slokas	209
		Subject Index	217

The Aesthetics of Wonder: New Findings in Sanskrit Alankarasastra

Item Code:

IDF912

Cover:

Hardcover

Edition:

1987

Publisher:

Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

ISBN:

8120804449

Language:

English

Size:

9.0" X 5.5"

Pages:

236

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CONTENTS

		Perface	v
1.		WHAT WE KNOW OFWONDER TODAY	1
2.		THE EXCITANTS OF THE SENSE OF WONDER	7
	2.1	Supernatural Occurrences	8
	2.2	Surprise twists in the plot	10
	2.3	Unique, even perverse reactions ofcharacters	12
	2.4	excessive reaction to stimulus	17
	2.5	Extraordinary displays of personal qualities	21
	2.6	Exorbitant cliaims	25
	2.7	A new twist to an old concept	29
	2.8	An arrestingly different principle developed-radically different from popular concepts	31
	2.9	An unexpected sequel toa step taken	38
	2.10	A statement made in juxtaposition with another conveys a startlingly different meaning	43
	2.11	A perverse reversl of ethical standards	47
	2.12	presenting good and virtuous conduct as bad or ineffective	50
	2.13	Adisplay of audacity, a cheerful disregard ofpublic prejudices	52
	2.14	Mind-boggling, larger-than-life portraits	54
	2.15	Superimposing human foibles on birds and animals	57
	2.16	presentingsome sophisticated act requiring human skill, initiative and ingenuity ashaving beenperfomed by other than human agency	59
	2.17	Spurt of admiration for a character from another	61
	2.18	Use of a device or measure designed for a purpose for a starlingly different purpose	65
	2.19	Underplaying a thing of value tomakeanother appear more significant	66
	2.20	The neat but unexpected waya problem gets solved	69
	2.21	Instituting startingly unusual comparisons	71
	2.22	Stark contrasts too can occasion surprise	74
	2.23	Normal, intelligent people acting absurdly under theurge of overpowering emotions	77
	2.24	When psychology is harnesed in a unique way to achieve a desired end	79
	2.25	The sudden realization that thecauseofall the trouble to which one is subject is oneself, no other	81
	2.26	Accomplishing mighty things with very unpromising implements	83
	2.27	Things appear startlingly different when the angle of vision or point offocus changes	85
	2.28	Postulating surprising new causes for known phenomena of nature	89
	2.29	Striking gradation through which are fashioned new techniques with which to measure intangibles	91
	2.30	Registering consternation at one's own great misfortune or cupidity	93
	2.31	Clever sophistry, specious arguments, cunning reasoning	96
	2.32	Deriving a general principal from an all-too-inadequate number of cases and applying it universally with amusing results	98
	2.33	A quick and smart retort, paying the offender in the same coin; Clever saucy dialogue	100
	2.34	Relating, in startling manner, present experience of individuals to a tradition, a myth, a classical concept	102
	2.35	Neighbouring pastures greener, in some cases, startlingly so	104
	2.36	Unbelievable, inexcusable bungling evoking startled surprise	105
	2.37	In a world given over to diplomatic euphemism, a blunt piece of straight-talking, a bland mouthing of the brutal truth may cause surprise	106
	2.38	Confusion worse confounded	108
	2.39	Presenting a thing of significance in deprecatory terms	110
	2.40	Consciously saying the opposite to secure a better effect through surprise	112
	2.41	Bizarre fancies, grand delusions,singular self-deception	114
	2.42	Giving eloquent, unambiguous expressionto one's innermost thoughts without the aid of words	115
	2.43	Somthing happens that should not have happened andit is contemplated with disbelief, surprise and sorrow	116
	2.44	Raising a thing to a high level only to drop it to the ground, blowing up a thing to outsize to burst it to smithereens	117
	2.45	Adroit verbal tricks	119
	2.46	The same thing being different things to people in diverse situations	121
	2.47	Applying double standards	122
	2.48	Displayof accurate knowledge in a back-ground of widespread popular misconceptions	123
	2.49	Unique relationships, unusual bargains with God	124
	2.50	relative notions of time	126
	2.51	Getting badly trounced by the very thing that was expected to save	127
	2.52	One man's meat turns out to be another's poison, starlinglyin some cases	128
	2.53	The damming up of strong emotions and the bursting of the dam	128
	2.54	Drawing a conclusion from material which seemingly suggests the very oposite	130
	2.55	Steps taken against deeply held preferences fail, leading to joy unbounded	131
	2.56	Making much of a thing, unbridled exag-geration	132
	2.57	The surprising perseverence of a character in an illusion	135
	2.58	With vaulting ambition goes a frailty of heart, causing surprise twice over	136
	2.59	small factors used to create a smokescreen to conceal a significant fault	137
	2.60	people unknowwingly working at cross purposes with surprisingly hilarious consequences	138
	2.61	Startling mental state on waking up from illusions	139
	2.62	When road-blocks startlingly turn out to be stepping stones	141
	2.63	The simultaneous advocacy of two radically opposed concepts	142
	2.64	Cause operating at a point and effect apearing at another	143
	2.65	Cause judged as inadequate for the scale of the effect	144
	2.66	The discovery of complexities in things regarded as simple and straight-forward	145
	2.67	A comples medley of emotions,some running counter to other, rarely found subsisting in a single human breast together	147
	2.68	solid reliance on sandy foundations, on vague,shadowy insubstaitials	148
	2.69	What looked bad initially proves good and what looked good proves bad in the sequel, evoking surprise through misappraised values	149
	2.70	Where misunderstanding is mutual and total	151
	2.71	A thing paraded as something much bigger or better, causing surprise bythe clever presentation	152
	2.72	Pride expresed at things not regarded as worthy of it	152
	2.71	Excess is in such abundance, it can over-fulfil want, creating an excess wherever it operates	155
3		THE LITERARY BENEFITS ACCURING FROM WONDER	157
	3.1	The essence of all creative art is a freshness, a strangeness which is the mother of surprise	157
	3.2	Wonder opens up the mind of the reader	159
	3.3	Wonder helps to secure attention	159
	3.4	Wonder makes for greater credibility, lubri-cating the transfer of experience	162
	3.5	Banal everyday objects and sequences acquire a new capacity to interest through surprise	165
	3.6	Surprise being dynamic activates aesthetic enjoyment	168
	3.7	Wonder help poet to effect change of direction in a natural andaesthetically acceptable fashion	173
	3.8	Wonder brightens the narrative, it lights up the dull patches	178
	3.9	Man, atavistically, accords the highest priority to surprise-evoking stimuli	180
	3.10	Certain elements of surprise born of audacity, perversity, iconoclasm can purvey vicarious delight	181
	3.11	Surprise, the prime constituent of Jagannatha's 'beyond-the-world' concept	182
	3.12	Surprise enables the portrayal of a fine excess of sentiment	185
	3.13	Surprise engenders puzzlement which challenges themind and engagesit, furnishing delight	188
	3.14	Surprise furnishes a magic attic for us to escape into from the troubled world we live in	189
4		LIGHT FROM MODERN SCIENCE	191
	4.1	The two fresh thinkers	191
	4.2	Light from Neuro-psychology	192
	4.3	The concept of moderately discrepant stimuli	193
	4.4	The theory of Moderate Discrepancy	194
	4.5	The poets' problem	196
	4.6	Evils of over-evocation of wonder	197
	4.7	Wonder, nota sentiment	198
	4.8	Proving the phase difference between wonder and the sentiments	200
	4.9	A second example	201
	4.10	Wonder, basically different from the sentiments	204
		Select Bibliography	207
		Index of Slokas	209
		Subject Index	217

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