SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis is intended as a study of Bengali literary writing during the period 1818 to 1831, and as part of that study it notes and assesses the contribution made to literary writing by the printing press and the newspaper. It also takes account of the relationship between the literature inherited from the pre-1800 period and that which was developing as a result of the impact of western standards and ways of life on Calcutta society. The period under review was one of transition and an attempt has been made to strike the balance between innovation and tradition. The first two chapters, which are introductory, survey the history of printing in Bengal and the growth of an indigenous Bengali press. Included also is a short historical review of the first origins and early development of the newspaper. In chapters III to VI the principal form of literary writing at the time, namely prose satire, is studied as a literary genre and as a reflection of the condition of Calcutta society. As most of the works examined in these chapters are generally ascribed to Bhabanicaran Bandyopadhyay, it has been necessary to look at his life, his place in society and his religious and social controversies with Rammohan Ray. Chapters VII and VIII are devoted to a more detailed analysis of the literary works themselves, first, from the point of view of metre, and, secondly, from the point of view of Bhabanicaran's technique as a satirist and his success in handling satire. The final chapter (IX) is a conclusion. It draws together the various evaluations which have been made of literary compositions, both prose and verse, it looks at contemporary taste and attempts to set the works produced, and in particular those of Bhabanicaran, in a fuller social, cultural and literary context.