The Bee Foreshadowing in Shakuntala Essay Example

her because of the curse, and she lost the ring that he gave to her.

Because of this rejection, she was devastated and was spirited away by her divine mother. However, a fisherman discovered the ring in a fish’s belly and returned it to the King that immediately restored the King’s memory. The King then tormented himself for disavowing Shakuntala. In this line of event, the lovers were not able to reconcile their love to each other. However, six years after, King Dushyanta returned to the celestial hermitage and saw a young boy that he realized was his son. Shakuntala appeared and forgave the King. The family then was reunited, and they settled in the King’s capital.

While the play ended in a happy note, the suffering of Shakuntala has always been highlighted in the play. The playwright used foreshadowing in indicating the adverse fate that Shakuntala was going to experience. These unfavourable events that led to the devastation of Shakuntala commenced from the curse given by Durvasas, to the forgetfulness of King Dushyanta of his love to her, to the lost ring that should serve as the token of love that would let the King remember her, and to the disavowal of the King that caused her to feel humiliated and abandoned.

All of these have been foreshadowed as early as the first act of the play which is again exemplified in the fifth act. Foreshadowing in both acts uses the symbol of a bee to suggest the outcome of their love affair. The first “bee scene” was used by the author for the two lovers to realize their love for each other. That little scene at

the beginning of the play where Shakuntala was attacked and was surrounded by a bee outlined what was in store for her. First, the bee attack suggests that Shakuntala belongs to a superior ancestry. This is the reason why the bee was drawn towards her face.

In the words of the King he said: “Bee, you touch the quivering corners of her frightened eyes, you hover softly near to whisper secrets in her ear; a hand brushes you away, but you drink her lips treasure—while the truth we seek defeats us, you are truly blessed” (Kalidasa 77). This status of Shakuntala would foreshadow the later scene of her being borne away from the Earth by her mother. Second, the bee attack incites the King to reveal himself to save her. As a matter of fact, it was his envy of the bee’s hovering on her face and kissing her lips that made him go to her.

This act of saving Shakuntala from the chasing bee commenced her love affair with the King. After the King has revealed himself and his love to Shakuntala, they decided to marry. While this love of theirs did not save Shakuntala from the fate of being forgotten by her lover, their love proved to be her saving grace at the end of the play: their love for each other bore a son that became the King’s token of love to Shakuntala when he finally regained his memory of her. Third, the bee attack signifies the adverse fate that will befall Shakuntala as a consequence of her love to the King.

The endless pursuit of the bee suggests that the suffering that Shakuntala will

experience is a predestination that she herself cannot escape. “The dreadful bee won’t stop. I must escape. Oh! He’s pursuing me… Save me! Please save me! This mad bee is chasing me! ” (Kalidasa 75). This resembles the adversity that Shakuntala suffered later on in the play. It was like the feeling of being pursued by a bee without anyone to help her out. When she asked for help from her friends, they refused and advised her to call the King instead.

While the King was not able to be there to save her in her true predicament because of the curse that befallen him, her mother was able to do so. As a conclusion, the scene in the first act where Shakuntala was being attacked by a bee foreshadows the adverse fate that Shakuntala will experience as the play unfolds. The bee attack does not only establish the identity of Shakuntala but has also outlined the events that will happen later on in the play. This bee symbolism has proven to be consistent in the play as it was also incorporated in a song that would remind the King of his love to Shakuntala.