ABSTRACT
This chapter revisits the question of Shakespeare’s ‘universalism’ by analysing the significance of Tagore’s use of the term ‘world-poet’ for Shakespeare in a 1915 poem, Viśva-Kavi (World-Poet), suggesting that this tribute is linked to Tagore’s critique of nationalism and national literatures. It indicates that Tagore’s notion of ‘universalism’ refers to an expanded conception of the human intricately connected with nature which co-constitutes the universe. Reading Tagore’s discussion of Shakespeare’s Tempest and its treatment of the divisive effects of power in contrast to Kalidasa’s Abhijnanasakuntalam, the chapter finds in it one of the earliest postcolonial and eco critiques of the play.
