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After reading the play called Sakuntala I learned many different aspects of stories where there are many characters involved in many different scenes. Sakuntala is one of the main characters in the play and she is a protagonist, she is the daughter of Vishwamitra. She is mentioned throughout the whole play. She was abandoned from her parents at birth and then later reunited with them. In this play, it can be a little hard deciding who is the protagonist or even the antagonist but without understanding the play no one can fully understand what the reason can be behind each character. The play is about different things such as gods, spells, and love. Shakuntala is generally whom tells the story from the protagonist point of view. King Durvasa is whom the antagonist is who had put a curse on Sukuntala. I had an idea who the protagonist and the antagonist would be only because I have read this play many times and I had the idea of who is telling what part of the story.

 King Dushyanta is who loved Shakuntala a lot but something had happened that caused them to not be together for a long period of time. To notice the difference on which character is what a reader needs to read carefully and understand the story in depth to understand the concept of the speaker and the author. A reader tends to figure out who the protagonist is and the antagonist in the beginning of the book, but some plays or even novels don’t catch on till later in the story. The story is generally based on true events that happened years back before the author Kalidasa wrote it. The story is based on the main character who is Sakuntala where she meets King Dushyanta where I believe they both should be the protagonist but after reading more of the play I had changed my opinion to the antagonist being Durwasa. Overall, the play explains the different characters but after reading it more than once I figured how to realize who is what. It’s surely not that hard to realize how to figure out the protagonist or the antagonist. It’s a way of learning the different aspects of reading a poem, novel or even play.

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Hello Class,

     In regards to the ending of Sukantala and King Dushyanta at the end of the play being related to karma I would say that there is a slight relation. I say slightly because the king was cursed as punishment for Sakuntala not greeting the Sage Durvásas correctly and promptly. The king is punished not by is own actions or intentions. Also not greeting the sage properly was not an intent of Sakuntala as she was merely distracted by her love for the king and the ponderrance of marriage. Take the scene in act 4 in which Anasúyá and Priyamvadá are gathering flowers. They clear describe that Sakuntala is absent not because of intent but because of a feeling of the heart.

A VOICE BEHIND THE SCENES.
”Ho there! See you not that I am here!”
ANASÚYÁ.
”That must be the voice of a guest announcing his arrival.”
PRIYAMVADÁ.
”Surely, [S’]akoontalá is not absent from the cottage.
Aside.
Her heart at least is absent, I fear.”(Overton 415)

     Karma is a concept based on a cycle of cause and effect in a natural process of life. So though the actions of Sakuntala were not intentional they were still actions that resulted in an effect. Not every action or result from an action is desirable, but in relation to karma the cycle supplements for a reasoning behind the events in life. So though Sakuntala left the king’s palace as an act to escape from judgement of her unborn son, the king himself did as asked by higher beings and fought demons to protect Indra. In effect while walking through the heavens he discovers his son from Sakuntala and Sakuntala herself. So this could be viewed as though there was punishment for an occurrence of disrespect there is reward for providing protection from evil for the gods. This providing a view of the cyclic life of karma itself.