Rabindranath Tagore and the Aesthetics of Postmodernism

Skeptical postmodern claims about the viability of authorship and meaning in literature are contrasted in historical persepective with Rabindranath Tagore's views on the power of literary art to illuminate reality and enrich feeling. Consequences of postmodern methods and theories are explored with reference to his defense of art and life as a unity that entails unique knowledge and insight. Although influenced by Western culture, he distrusted theory applied to art. For him, durable meanings are an imperative of life for which literature is a vehicle. A post-Nobel Prize attempt to promote Eastern wisdom as a corrective to Western rationalism and materialism did not succeed.