I decided to craft lesson plan for what I would do to teach The Recognition of Sakuntala to a class of college students. My lesson plan centers around the themes in Sakuntala, using the above worksheet as the foundation for a larger discussion questioning what Sakuntala is about. Contemplating the themes in Sakuntala forces students to think deeper about what they read, not just taking the events of the play at surface level, but really delving into the story to find meaning, make new connections, and consider the content on an intellectual level.
The lesson plan would begin with the above worksheet. Students would fill out the “quotes” and “explanation” boxes. The themes would already be listed, except for maybe one blank where students could come up with their own theme, thus giving them the opportunity to explore a part of the play that intrigues them personally. Students would fill in this worksheet in order to engage with the text (by finding quotes) and begin the process of analyzing it, at least to encourage them to start thinking about the text in a more intellectual, contemplating way. I filled this worksheet out with the examples I would use if I was tasked with filling out this chart in class.
After filling in the chart, students would be arranged into small groups to share their analysis and start debating/forming more complete ideas with their peers. After that, students would be tasked with debating which theme is most significantly demonstrated in Sakuntala in a large group discussion. This would encourage them to look even deeper into the text, pulling out more and more evidence as they try to defend their stance. New connections would be unearthed. New ideas would be formed. Students would learn more about parts that confused them, perhaps, or at least develop a deeper sense of understanding the text.
The themes I chose came partially from research and partially because they are interesting or seemed important to me. Obviously, I put “nature and beauty” first because the depiction of nature in relation to beauty and femininity in this book has always been fascinating to me. “Supernatural intervention” also struck me as important. This book reminds me a lot of a Greek myth with the presence of nonhuman entities, especially when Sakuntala got spirited away by a nymph after being rejected by the king. Supernatural intervention is at the core of this play. Durvasas’s curse is the major source of conflict in the plot, as his curse is what caused the king to forget Sakuntala. If that even hadn’t happened, the king would have accepted her readily as his wife and the story would have ended there.
Femininity and gender roles are another significant part of the play, especially for a modern audience. The men in Sakuntala’s life have a lot of control over her. Even though this is merely an expression of the time and place in which this story was set, it opens interesting avenues for critical thought. I can see a potential ecocritical reading, where Sakuntala—an almost mother nature-like figure—is claimed and passed between men (her father, the king), much like how explorers and rulers treat “virginal” lands. Now I wish I wrote an essay on that instead of making this lesson plan. Oh well.
Anyway, love and family are less important to the story line (in my opinion, I guess the whole point of this exercise it that someone could, and should at least try to, prove that assertion wrong). From the passionate and immediate love (or lust?) between the king and Sakuntala to the, again, immediate and passionate love of the king for his son, there is a persistent sense of people belonging to one another, falling in love, and finding each other after being separated. It’s oddly wholesome and quite beautiful, actually, the way this family comes together in the end, as if by destiny (another potential theme perhaps).
I know this worksheet got me thinking deeper about The Recognition of Sakuntala in ways I hadn’t before. It was only when writing this essay, after contemplating my worksheet responses, that I came up with that potential ecocritical reading of the play and started drawing connections between the king, Sakuntala, their son, the parallels between the ways they fell in love, the potential lesson about destiny. I hope this exercise would have a similar effect on other students, helping them develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the play.
Works Cited
Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala. Translated by W. J. Johnson, Oxford University Press, 2008.
Patterson-White, Sarah. “Shakuntala Themes.” LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 31 May 2019. Web. 19 Nov 2020.
Sprockets and Springes 
Great post! I think your idea is very original and I think it was executed well. I can see that this process would require a deep analysis into the text, with students reading intently to find certain themes. I think that would be an excellent way to engage students and teach them not only to read, but how to read and look for the messages and themes in a piece. Not only would they have to find the quotes, but formulate thoughts and perspectives and explain/defend them through the use of specific examples and academic analysis. I really like this idea. I wonder if it would also be beneficial to have another assignment, either for this text or another, where the students themselves need to look for themes and find examples to back those up? It is always interesting to ponder the ways in which young people can get engaged with this in-depth literary analysis.
I really love this idea! I like how you chose this as your project and how you went about it. I think this includes good critical thinking and pays attention to the text well. I think if I were a student assigned this I would enjoy it and I think it would help me understand better. Good Job!
This is a great idea for a lesson plan! It reminds me of something Abby Goode would do in one of her classes (if you’ve ever taken a class with her you know ALL ABOUT how much she loves diving deep into themes like this). I especially like the idea of coming up with your own theme and arguing why that’s important. It can be hard to REALLY dive into a theme and come up with a good analysis/explanation for it, and if you do, I think that means you just have a really good understanding of what you’re talking about. Overall, great lesson plan!
I said it during edits, and I’ll happily say it again – wonderful work. Dr. Goode would be proud. Your chosen themes and the way you encourage student participation is a delightful sign that you’ve made a good career choice. There’s a sweet spot between adding enough detail to give someone else using this lesson plan a good idea of what a successful lesson should look like, and over-planning to the point where any discussion looks like “derailing” the plan, and I think you really hit a stride with this piece. Good work, and have a safe winterim!