Rabindranath Tagore · Philosophy

The Religion of the Artist

Why Tagore’s philosophy runs through song and poem: creation is the language of the infinite, and man’s ‘surplus’ - the emotional energy left over from mere survival - is what seeks expression in art, making the artist a channel through which the finite utters the infinite.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Tagore located art in the human surplus (the emotional energy beyond self-preservation), saw creation as the infinite’s self-expression, and made the artist a channel through which the finite reveals the infinite - so that a poem like Gitanjali is philosophy in song. Explain these ideas in your…

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