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Symbols
In Shakuntala, bees primarily symbolize erotic attraction, particularly the fleeting, teasing touch of flirtation. In the Prologue, for instance, the actress sings an erotic song in which blossoms are “gently brushed by black woodland bees.” In Act 1, when Shakuntala is attacked by a bee in the sacred grove, King Dusyanta envies the “honey-maker” because it brushes her eyelids, murmurs in her ear, and “[wins] her, / While I am stalled.” After he and Shakuntala come together, he likens himself to a bee, who “[kisses] the bud of your unbruised lip / And [floods] my thirsting mouth with nectar.” At the midpoint of the play, however, the symbol changes somewhat, when the cursed King compares himself to “a bee mithering at dawn” because he doesn’t recognize Shakuntala and can’t decide whether to draw close to her or flee. Dusyanta also includes a likeness of a bee in his portrait of Shakuntala and pretends to shoo it away, recalling the significance of the bee attack in his initial attraction to her and suggesting that perhaps bees might signify the confusion of passion as well as its pleasure.
Bees Quotes in Shakuntala
The Shakuntala quotes below all refer to the symbol of Bees. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 3
Quotes
KING. Timid fawn—don't worry about your elders! The father of your family knows the law, and he shall find no fault in what you've done. Besides:
You wouldn't be the first royal sage's daughter
To take a prince for love—
And receive her father's blessings later.
SHAKUNTALA. Let me go now. I need to ask my friends’ advice.
KING. Yes. I shall release you—
SHAKUNTALA. When?
KING. When?
When, like a bee, I kiss the bud of your unbruised lip
And flood my thirsting mouth with nectar.
[With these words, he tries to raise her face. SHAKUNTALA evades him with a dance]
OFF-STAGE VOICE. Red goose, take leave of your gander. Night is falling!
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Act 5
Quotes
VOICE [singing in the air].
Have you forgotten—forgotten so soon,
How you settled on the mango bloom,
Turning nectar to honey with kisses?
Have you really forgotten what bliss is?
To change it so quickly
For the wan and sickly
Night-flowering lotus?
[…]
KING [to himself]. Why should this song fill me with desire, when I'm not even separated from someone I love? But perhaps
It's what survives of love from other lives,
Trapped in certain forms and sounds,
And then released by song,
That keys my mood
From happiness to longing.
[He remains in some bewilderment]
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KING [staring at Shakuntala; to himself].
They offer me this flawless girl…
Could I have married her? I no longer know.
Like a bee mithering at dawn
Round a jasmine soaked in dew,
I can neither approach her, nor go.
[He remains thinking]
Doorkeeper [to herself]. Ah, duty always comes first for my lord. Who else would hesitate, faced with such a free and beautiful offer?
SARNGARAVA. So, king, why do you remain silent?
KING. Ascetics, however hard I try, I don’t remember marrying this lady. So how can I accept her when she’s obviously pregnant, and I have no reason to believe it’s anything to do with me?
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Act 6
Quotes
KING [sighing].
I rejected my love when she stood before me,
Yet now I'm obsessed by her painted image:
I crossed the stream of living water
To drink from a mirage.
VIDUSAKA [aside]. It's too late for the river now, but there's no dispelling the mirage.
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Get the entire Shakuntala LitChart as a printable PDF.
Bees Symbol Timeline in Shakuntala
The timeline below shows where the symbol Bees appears in Shakuntala. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...for the audience. The actress sings a romantic song about a mimosa blossom brushed by bees. The manager says approvingly that the song carried him away, “Just as the headlong rush...
(full context)
Act 1
...another class, then he could hope to marry her. Meanwhile, Shakuntala is frightened by a bee that’s been disturbed by her watering. Dusyanta envies the bee’s closeness to Shakuntala.
(full context)
Act 6
...crossed the stream of living water / To drink from a mirage.” He notices a bee in the painting and warns it not to harm his beloved. When Vidusaka tells him...
(full context)
