The Cycle of Spring

Two grey hairs throw a king's court into confusion in Rabindranath Tagore's drama. Troubled by the thought of death, the ruler turns away from urgent affairs and seeks comfort in a pundit's teachings on renunciation. The adviser, meanwhile, finds reasons to request wealth, land and household improvements. This comic prelude sets private fears against public responsibilities, with famine outside the palace and flattery close to the throne.

The Cycle of Spring combines spoken dialogue with songs and symbolic stage scenes. In the middle excerpt, a band of youths sets out to find the Old Man for a spring festival, while Spring's heralds tease Winter and call forth the youth concealed beneath his age. A ferryman's answers turn their search toward questions of paths and purpose. Readers interested in poetic theatre can follow how seasonal images, playful arguments and music give shape to anxieties about time, growing old and remaining open to life.