वासवदत्ता (महाकवि सुबन्धु - श्लेष-प्रधान शास्त्रीय गद्यकाव्य सान्वय सटीक)

INTRODUCTION 33
Subandhu and Lyly. It is Lyly, indeed, with whom Subandhu
may perhaps best be compared for a general parallel with the
style and spirit of the Vāsavadattā. Neither the Euphues nor
Subandhu's romance is concerned so much with the matter as
with the form, although the English author manifests a didactic
purpose which finds no counterpart in the Sanskrit writer. Like
the Vāsavadattā, the Euphues and its continuation contain epi-
sodes, or stories within stories, as the tale of Callimachus (Lyly,
ed. Arbor, pp. 227–245, Birmingham, 1868), which itself contains
the story of Cassander the hermit (pp. 235–239), thus parallelling
the arrangement not only of the Vāsavadattā and the Kādambarī,
but also of the Pañcatantra, Śukasaptati, Vetālapañcaviṁśati,
The Thousand Nights and One Night, Decameron, and other similar
works.¹ Lyly's romance is curiously like Subandhu's in yet other
respects. Here I may note particularly from his Euphues the use
of paronomasia, alliteration, antithesis (corresponding respectively
to Subandhu's employment of śleṣa, anuprāsa, and virōdha), and
learned allusions. From the mass of possible citations under
each category I quote but two of each. (1) Paronomasia : ‘and
though they be commonly in a great cholar that receiue the mate,
yet would I willingly take euery minute tenne mates to enioy Liuia
for my louing mate’ (Lyly, ed. Arbor, p. 66, Birmingham, 1868) ;
‘did not Iupiters egge bring forth as well Helen a light huswife
in earth, as Castor a light Starre in heauen ?’ (p. 208).² (2) Alli-
teration : ‘these subtill shiftes, these painted practises (if I wer to
be wonne) would soone weane me from the teate of Vesta to the
toyes of Venus’ (p. 76) ; I am Philautus no Italian lady, who
commonly are woed with leasings, and won with lust, entangled
with deceipt, and enioyed with delight, caught with sinne, and
cast off with shame’ (p. 360). (3) Antithesis : ‘how curious were
we to please our Lady, how carelesse to displease our Lorde ?
Howe devout in seruing our Goddesse, how desperate in forget-
¹ For a charming modern imitation see Bain, Digit of the Moon (London, 1899).
² It is well known that paronomasia occurs not infrequently in Shakespeare (e. g.
Julius Caesar, 1. 2. 155 ; Merchant of Venice, 4. 1. 123 ; Taming of the Shrew, 2. 1.
190 ; Richard II, 2. 1. 74) ; and it seems to have been a favourite device of Ben Jonson
(e. g. Mermaid ed., 1. 15–16, 20, 68, 106, 344 ; 2. 91 ; 3. 178, 402, London, n. d.).
D