The Love Between Sakuntala and the King Dusyanta

Sakuntala and the King Dusyanta are the main characters of the drama Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection. The story starts with an unintended meeting of Sakuntala and Dusyanta, and it expands with their relations, especially the love relationships. The basic theme of this drama is to praise for their sincere love and eulogize Sakuntala who is naive, brave, and beautiful. Also, it includs some praise for the King Dusyanta. Sakuntala is an idealized image of the writer, and she is a symbol of the drama of all virtues. However, the King Dusyanta is a more complex image. So, I want to talk about his personal qualities through his love to Sakuntala in the following paragraphs.

The writer wants to portray Dusyanta as a wise monarch who is both a valiant fighter and a handsome, passionate and responsible man. He has the courage to pursue his love, also has the courage to bear his own mistakes. But as a king, he likes to have fun, and outrageous debauchery. It's better to say he pursues the lovely appreance of Sakuntala than pursues of love (at least not at the first). At the first, Dusyanta pursues the beauty of Sakuntala to meet his own personal desires. From the beginning of  the play, we can see the unfaithful quality of Dusyanta from conversation with BUFFOON, “You are like the man who loses his taste for dates and prefers sour tamarind! How can you abandon the gorgeous gems of your palace?" "So she is the reason you reject other beauties!" (P1285) These conversations show the King Dusyanta is divided in mind. The main reason Dusyanta likes Sakuntala is the incredible beauty she has, and this is the king's primitive and most essential impulses-not because of Sakuntala's implication shown manifested in language or behavior. In addition, the purpose of Dusyanta to fall in love with Sakuntala is not for "the happiness of both parties", but simply to give birth to a holy son to pass his thrown. Therefore, the love of Sakuntala and Dusyanta did not show a higher level of moral issues.

Meanwhile, despite the love of Dusyanta is strong, but it is also limited. Even though he is the king, he still cannot challenge the caste system. So, from the beginning, when he knows that Sakuntala has the same caste as him, he performs overjoyed-he will not pay any additional cost to get Sakuntala's love. As the King says " I once made love to her. Now she reproaches me for loving Queen Vasumati. Friend Madhavya, tell Hamsapadika that her words rebuke me soundly." (P1303) However, to this complaint, the king is very dismissive.

At last, the king did not show as a responsible man. He is vaguely perfunctory and capricious. He defaults the duty to what he has done. The king says "even if I admit, I cheat on her, what will happen?" This is such a blatant and shameless confession. We can see the ugly heart of Dusyanta from what he is talking about.

From the above, I can draw such a conclution (of course this conclusion is not the writer to convey to us, but I try to figure out from the drama), the love that Dusyanta shows to Sakuntala is limited, and the love is not totally pure and true. The love of Dusyanta is mixed with the personal interests and secular norms. From the viewpoints about love of the King Dusyanta and his personal qualities, I know that this kind of love is not that strong, and it's not for the happiness of both parties.

Lysistrata

I have read several ancient literary works in this class. Among these stories, Lysistrata is my favourite. Unlike Gilgamesh and Bhagavad-Gita, Lysistrata describes the "battle" between women and men, which indicates the relationship between women and men. the Lysistrata is a story that talks about an Athenian woman who have taken control of the Acropolis in Athens. They are pretesting against the endless wars that men are fighting and refuse sex with their husbands unless they stop the battles.

The relation between men and women is always a topic people talk about. Compare to present day standards, Athenian women were only a little bit better than slaves. From birth a girl was not exprected to learn how to read or write, nor was she expected to earn an education. Their father controlled them before they were married, and their spouse controlled them once they were married. However, in the play, the women demand the end of war and they take action. Also, a contingency of elderly women take over the Acropolis and fight off the opposing force of elderly men. So, I think Aristophanes worte this story because he wants this happen that someday women can do something by themselves. In fact, in ancient Athens, the idea that women can stop a war or that they can organize themselves is just a humor. Women were seen as the property of men, so how can they protest against their "property owners".

It is hard to say this world is dominate by men, without women, history will stop quickly. In the end of the Lysistrata, the men are desperate for sex and they give up to fight the battles. A messager from the Spartan arrives and ask for peace talking. The Spartan and Athenian delegates arrive to talk terms for peace. Lysistrata was scolding for both parties' errers and the peace terms were confirmed quickly. The night was end up with celebration party and the men and women were dancing together. I think this ending is what Aristophanes wants. The story shows that without any men or women, this world will not work great. Only when men and women work together equally and harmony, everything will have a happy ending like Lysistrata.

The Tragedy of Antigone

Tragedy is the process that the valuable things to be ruined. Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written before 442 B.C. The main character Antigone is the play's tragic heroine. At the beginning, Antigone is opposed to her glowing sister Ismene. Unlike her docile sister, Antigone is recalcitrant. She has a boyish physique and curses her girlhood.

As I said, the valuable thing of this play is that Antigone appearing as the young girl who rise up alone against state power. Antigone has two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, and they killed each other in a battle. The king Creon banned a decree that nobody can bury Polynices. However, Antigone, ignore the decree and follow the god's rule to bury her brother. She was trying to persuade her sister Ismene to bury their brother, but Ismene refused.

In the end, Antigone's tragedy rests in her refused to cede on her desire. Against all prohibitions and without any just cause, she will bury her brother to the point of her own death. As we learn in her confrontation with Creon, this insistence on her desire locates her in a line of tragic heroes. In refusing to cede it, she moves outside the human community. She thought the death would be a glory. She said "I will lie with the one I love and loved by him-an outrage sacred to the gods! I have longer to please the dead than please the living here."

Antigone was killed by Creon because she against the rules. Creon not meant to kill Antigone, but he has his own rule, and he needs to use that rule to regulate his people. This is a tragedy, because the upper level god's rule and the lower level human rule exist at the same time. It is hard to find the balance how to obey both of them.