Aesthetics and the Poetic Image of Rabindranath Tagore

Contents: Foreword. Prelude. Introductory Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Image and universalization in the poetry of Rabindranath. 3. Image and symbolization in the poetry of Rabindranath. 4. Image and its relation to the aesthetic experience of the poet. 5. Distinctive feature of the image used in the poetry of Rabindranath in comparison with Western and Eastern, specially in that with Bengali poets. 6. The co-relation between the analytical estimate of the poetic image and the art of criticism. Notes and References. A bibliography of Tagore's work. Index.

"It is a matter of great joy that Dr. Asit Kumar Datta has laid his hands upon the task of analysing the poetic paintings of Tagore by applying both Indian and Western yardsticks of literary evaluation. This analysis of the poetical paintings of Tagore has started with presentation of the philosophy of Tagore also. It has already been pointed out that Tagore does not project one philosophy; his literary creations rather contain projections of different philosophies, because like the great Vyasa he is a literary monster projecting different theories at different periods. Dr. Asit Kumar Datta has tried to locate the impact of Marxist philosophy on Tagore and in this respect he has differed from the traditional view that the mind of Tagore had been influenced mainly by the speculations of the Upanishads. He approaches the poetry of Tagore from this angle, and naturally becomes successful in locating certain truths, not identified before. If research is considered as a process initiated to locate new truths and identify new relations among existing truths then the documents produced by Dr. Asit Kumar Datta is capable of being regarded as one of the finest products of research, which can be considered as a guide book for all research scholars trying to work on Tagore at a later date. Dr. Asit Kumar Datta has demonstrated throughout his work his profound penetration into the secrets of Western and Indian aesthetics and his command over the techniques of analysing the fabric of poetical painting by applying scientific methodology. This treatise is going to be considered as a lasting contribution to Tagore studies, encouraging scholars of future times to do work in the line analysis of poetic paintings shown by Datta and surely it will remove a long-felt want." (jacket)