Dramaturgy: Exploring the Elements of Shakespearean Tragedy with the Perspectives of R. Srinivasa Iyengar

Abstract

R. Srinivasa Iyengar has presented his views on William Shakespeare’s art of dramaturgy in his noteworthy work; Shakespeare: His World and His Art. It was published in 1964 and was received enthusiastically by lovers of literature. The work has finally been divided by Iyengar into fifteen chapters. The purpose of present study is to discuss Iyengar’s view on Shakespeare’s tragedy in detail. His love for the Shakespeare’s artistic sense was cherished by his mother who was fond of literature specially of Shakespeare. He received a book Tales and Travels by Hugh Laurence as second prize when he was in fourth class (1916-1917). It was signed by the principal, K.C. Viraraghava Iyer and the family has still preserved it. Iyengar loved great literature and so, generally speaking there were no favorites as such in his literary world. But two names were very close to heart: William Shakespeare and Sri Aurobindo. His first encounter with Shakespeare was through reading Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare in1922. The impact of this first encounter with Shakespeare lasted through his life time. Such was his phenomenal memory that long after he gave up reading due to loss of vision, just a year prior to his passing away, he could name the character, act and scene from all the plays of Shakespeare when just a single line from any of the plays represented in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1941) was read out to him. He loved teaching Shakespeare’s plays and had acquired an enormous amount of matter on the subject. It was natural that the approaching quarter centenary of the Bard of Avon galvanized him into action.