ABSTRACT
The penetrating tragic quality of each of the plays makes karuṇa the overall effect of the work. Śoka can be identified as the sthāyī bhāva of each hero who suffers excruciating mental agony. In accordance with Bharata’s maxims, a distinct feature that the four plays share is that in each there is one aṅga or supporting rasa which bears a direct relation to the hero and thereby to the pradhāna rasa. This supporting rasa is also more prominent than the other aṅga rasas. As has been identified, the jugupsa which overwhelms Hamlet, the śanka that ruins Othello, the krodha of the impassioned Lear and the excessive bhaya of Macbeth are prominent bhāvas that lead to their fall. The rasa study also illumines the centrality of the hero in a Shakespeare play. The emotional structure of the play evolves based on the hero’s response to other characters and situations. Another point noted is that the prominent bhāvas, found in the protagonist, undergo a sea change towards the end when he attains a redemptive vision. It is rather peculiar that the aesthetic emotion on which all the plays conclude is śānta.This is so mainly because of the regenerative vision that the heroes acquire at the end. There is also the restoration of order and peace in the physical realm as each kingdom is placed under an able and honourable ruler. The śānta rasa that every tragedy culminates in can be considered close to the Aristotelian idea of catharsis. Bharata’s principles complement Aristotle’s and serve to improve the acuity of scholars and practitioners alike. In the past decade, in-depth research studies analysing world literature, film and journalism using the tool of rasa have emerged. In a converging world, Eastern theories, especially those that are universally applicable, will increasingly find acceptance.
