Textual Analysis of Taj Mahal Sources, Essay Example

The Taj Mahal is one of the great Seven Wonders of the World that is highly revered for its fantastic architectural appearance and elements that fascinate people from all walks of life throughout the world.  This mausoleum was actually built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and is commonly revered for its internationally-renowned implications of Mughal architectural excellence.  However, not everyone shares the same opinion of the greatness of this fascinating work of art that has been a source of pleasure and pride within India and the world.  In fact, four literary works suggest that the Taj Mahal may not be as great of a piece of architecture as many would hope to believe.  The cultural, religious, and mythical elements of the Taj Mahal have been questioned as well as the legitimacy of the Taj Mahal as being a supreme building.  Through a textual analysis of these works, it is important to gain an understanding of the messages and methods used to convey these messages from the four unique authors.

To begin, the article entitled “Orthodoxy, Innovation, and Revival: Consideration of the Past in Imperial Mughal Tomb Architecture” focuses most of its efforts on suggesting the cultural and historical elements associated with Mughal architecture.  The argument portrayed within this article suggests that instead of the typical argument that Mughal architecture bumbled around until eventually finding itself at the climax of the Taj Mahal, the process was more of a cycle that involved past elements and experiences of building other great architectures as imperial tombs.  Here, the author does not concentrate the bulk of the work on the Taj Mahal itself, although it is clear early in the article that it is perhaps the “Taj Mahal, of course, [that] scores top marks as ‘the perfect moment in the evolution of architecture during the Mughul period’” (Brand 324).  The reader, then, maintains a clear understanding throughout the article that as the Mughal, Muslim, and other large cultures throughout India exercised different beliefs and architectural advances, the Taj Mahal is the crème de la crème of all imperial tombs during the Mughal period.  The rest of the article is only important in justifying the addition of other Mughal imperial tombs as they are interrelated with the Taj Mahal, and the author suggests that these tombs finished a cycle of architecture that eventually culminated in the Taj Mahal.  Through the use of historical and cultural elements described within the article, the author is able to provide the reader with a much deeper appreciation for the Taj Mahal, although it is unclear, yet very likely, that he actually believes that it is as excellent a building as others suggest.

Wayne Begley had decided to attack another element of the Taj Mahal through his article entitled “The Myth of the Taj Mahal and a New Theory of Its Symbolic Meaning.”  This article concentrated on debunking the myth that the Taj Mahal was actually a metaphorical “love poem” that was built in honor of Mumtaz Mahal by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.  The author first cites many literary and public sources where the Taj Mahal’s story is profound and honored by many leaders from the western nations in Europe and the United States.  Most of the European historians during this time period described Jahan as a bloodthirsty power monger that would stop at nothing at being highly revered and honored by history and his people.  Through this inclusion of information, Begley sought to destroy the myth of the Taj Mahal and suggest that is was really Jahan’s efforts to become honored throughout history through supreme architecture that was the true cause for building the Taj Mahal.  Similar to the previous article, Begley never suggests that the architecture or greatness of the building should be questioned.  However, he provides much evidence to question the honor and respectability of Jahan’s intentions, and effectively destroys the stereotypical belief that the building was meant to honor his lost wife.  The actual architectural elements of the Taj Mahal were only mentioned to discuss certain elements that society, and the world, have come to love and cherish as the building has become one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  Therefore, the reader gains very little knowledge of the architecture of the Taj Mahal, but gains a different perspective on the truth behind its construction, which may alter the true appreciation that people have for the purpose of the building.

“A Critique on the Taj Mahal” by Clay Lancaster was a source that was actually never much of an exact critique on the Taj Mahal; instead, it became a critique on the criticism written previously by Aldous Huxley.  Lancaster begins by critiquing every piece of evidence that Huxley used to argue against the greatness of the Taj Mahal as a supreme architectural creation.  While Huxley was clearly disappointed with the Taj Mahal in his writing, Lancaster was obviously disappointed with the limited perspective of Huxley’s “western thinking.”  In fact, the argue mentioned that “[Huxley’s] limited view of the monument leads him to conclude that the Taj is far inferior to contemporary buildings in Europe, citing St. Paul’s in London and the Villa Rotunda near Vicenza for comparison” (Lancaster 7).  He continued to argue that it was due to Huxley’s cultural bias of being an Englishman and European that forced him to have a narrow view of the Taj Mahal, and only have a great appreciation of the advancement of his own culture’s architecture.  Through roughly two pages of non-stop conjecture of the Taj Mahal’s comparison to other Indian, Mughal and Muslim pieces of architecture, Lancaster strayed away from the original point of the article.  He eventually returned to the main concept that the Taj Mahal had a legitimate place within the great architectural creations throughout the world, but he also emphasizes that it may not be as great as everyone would suggest.  Through critiquing the work of Huxley, Lancaster agrees with him on a few of Huxley’s architectural issues with the Taj Mahal.  This implicitly suggests to the reader that the Taj Mahal may not be as great as people would like to believe, and may have actually validated Huxley’s critical comments, rather than showing legitimate grounds for arguing against them.  The purpose of this work is lost within Lancaster’s rants and inability to provide a clear, consistent point of view throughout the article.

Finally, Aldous Huxley provides nothing more than constant criticism for the Taj Mahal in his work entitled “Jesting Pilate: An Intellectual Holiday.”  From the very beginning, the author uses a rhetorical strategy of telling a story to draw the reader into his position.  He claims that “Nature, I repeat, did its best.  But though it adorned, it could not improve the works of man … the Taj was a disappointment” (Huxley 72).  His position throughout the chapter never strays off course, and continues to justify his position that the Taj Mahal was a cheaply-made, inefficient piece of architecture that wasted much space and was not even comparable to the St. Paul’s in London or the Villa Rotunda in Italy.  Huxley even argued that the very marble was used held very little practical purpose except to ineffectively attempt to make people believe the building was a fascinating sight.  Furthermore, the argument that people are fascinated by price and riches suggested to the reader that the building was a failed attempt at prying at the natural desires for riches within people of all cultures.  The author uses many architectural comments and makes the reader believe that he is a legitimate authority figure on great works.  His consistent position and blunt statements leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind of his position within the writing.

It is clear that each author utilized a unique writing style and had a much different critique or point to emphasize regarding the Taj Mahal.  Although these authors did not agree on the significance of the Taj Mahal for varying reasons, the world still views this wonderful work of art as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  Through using rhetorical strategies, stories, and blatant statements, these authors have made their points clear, although some were clearer than others.  These texts all have a place in the arguments surrounding the significance of Taj Mahal, and they do definitely add to the quality of the discussion in one way or another.  Therefore, all viewpoints must be considered when critiquing the quality of this architectural monument.

Works Cited

Begley, Wayne E. “The Myth of the Taj Mahal and a New Theory of Its Symbolic Meaning.” Art Bulletin 61.1 (1979): 7-37.

Brand, Michael. “Orthodoxy, Innovation, and Revival: Considerations of the Past in Imperial Mughal Tomb Architecture.” Muqarnas 10. (1993): 323-334.

Huxley, Aldous. Jesting Pilate: An Intellectual Holiday. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1928. pp. 71-78.

Lancaster, Clay. “A Critique on the Taj Mahal.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 15.4 (1956): 7-11.