PART I
Metaphors and similes have been
created by people as a means to relate to the world around them; in other
words, as instruments to bring some familiarity to the incomprehensible. It is
extremely difficult to describe sublime or profound emotions in direct terms,
as these deeply subjective and personal experiences (such as love, isolation,
anger, or despair) are beyond the bounds of language. As a result, it is common
to employ modes of figurative language in order to illuminate these otherwise
elusive emotions. Dance and music are very personal experiences of an artist,
and so he or she may use metaphor and simile to communicate feeling to the
audience.
Metaphors and similes are not technically the
same, but instead of examining the differences, the terms and their
interpretations can be used interchangeably in Bharatha Natyam. There are two
aspects of metaphor and simile in dance: one is the use of these devices in the
lyrics written by the poet, and the other is their use in places where the
lyrics do not explicitly state them. In
the first instance, the lyrics provide the dancer with a base to expand, but
confines him or her to the given lyrics, restricting the interpretation to the
given metaphor or simile. In the second instance, the open-ended quality due to
the absence of these devices in the lyrics, leaves the interpretation entirely
to the dancer’s imagination. However, the lack of restriction can cause the
interpretation to become tangential or unrelated to the artist’s intention or
lyrical nuance. It is the dancer’s task to make the comparison both interesting
and relevant.
To be continued....................
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