THEA 2011 Lecture Notes - Dharma
20 Mar 2014
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Document Summary
Like all ancient societies, india was strictly hierarchical. 0the caste system separated indians into a multitude of social ranks and roles, according to their birth. King dahsanta belongs to the ksatriya (warriors and rulers) he would not be allowed to marry into the barhmin caste (priest caste) Lovers in plays are sometimes divided by caste divisions. But as in new comedy, they will turn out to be of correct parentage. Most surviving indian plays are dominated by the heroic and erotic rasas. They are about the conflict between kama and dharma (desire and duty) and the need for balance between them. The heroic warrior king bust grow into a royal sage (a wise, spiritual, king) Indian theatre permits serious drama and low comedy in the same play. In cultures that permits this, the stock character of the fool (also called clown) may appear. Fools speak in ordinary language (spoken on the street) rather than in poetry.
