English Eco-literature.doc

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1、 English Eco-literatureI. The Beginning of English Eco-literature1. Brief Introduction to Eco-literatureAlthough it is difficult to tell for sure when English eco-literature began, no one can deny that English literature is one of the first to have eco-literature. The dispute over the beginning of e

2、co-literature mainly rests on the understanding of this literary genre. The unsettlement is due to the different identifications of the scope. In broad sense, eco-literature refers to the literature that observes and demonstrates the relationship between human beings and the nature, while in narrow

3、sense eco-literature is believed to be accompanied by environmental problems arising from the fast development of agriculture and especially of industry without much consideration for the endurance of the nature. Eco-literature is identified as a new literary genre only after eco-criticism appeared

4、in early 1990s in the United States of America when human beings were faced with the worsening global environmental crisis. Eco-criticism, in Cheryll Glotfeltys words, aims to explore the relationship between literature and the natural environment. As the leading advocator and initiator of eco-criti

5、cism in the world Cheryll Glotfelty states that eco-criticism applies the earth-centered ideology to the study of literature with the aim of exploring the relationship between literature and the natural environment. With the wide spread of eco-criticism eco-literature as a new literary genre took sh

6、ape and it develops quickly and now it is accepted in the literary world. Since the main task of eco-criticism is to re-examine human culture through literary works to find out the defects of culture, to explore how human thoughts, culture and models of social developments influence or even determin

7、e humans attitudes and behaviors towards nature, and how they lead to environmental deterioration and ecological crises, any literary work concerning the relationship between man and natural environment can be said to be a part of eco-literature.II. English Eco-literature in Three Periods 1. Early E

8、co-literature in EnglandNot only modern and contemporary English literature has ecological implication, we can also find ecological connotation in early English literature. The first most important work in English literature, Beowulf, is a very typical example as a poem with rich ecological implicat

9、ion.Beowulf is an ancient long narrative poem which tells the hero Beowulfs three adventures, each of which involves a fight against Grendel, a male monster, Grendels mother, a she-monster and a fire dragon. The poem is usually believed to be a national epic of the English people, but from the persp

10、ective of ecocriticism, it is a poem with ecological implication. During the reign of King Hrothgar in the land of the Danes, there lived a monster in his den. For many years the Danish and the monster were at peace but it came to an end after the king built a great hall called Heorot, where the nob

11、les feasted and enjoyed tales chanted by scops. The hall was close to the monsters den and the terrible noise angered the monster. One night the furious monster could not bear the loud noise any longer. It came out of its den and appeared in the hall, killing thirty men successively. From then on, t

12、he monster haunted the land for about 12 years. The people of the land lived in terror and no one dared to come to the kings new hall.Many readers may naturally show much sympathy over those dead and troubled, but remember, it was the building of the kings hall which was too close to the animals nat

13、ural habitat that the monster sensed the human intrusion and the coming danger from the people. The noise from the hall all night drove the animal mad. If we say that many people became victims of the savagery attack by the monster, on second thought the monster was a victim, too, because the animal

14、 lost its own peaceful and quiet life after the building of the hall. When Beowulf heard about the monster he came to help the suffering Danish people. After fierce fight Beowulf finally killed the monster. The defeat of the monster signifies the first turn of victory in the combat with the nature,

15、represented by Grendel. With the development of mens power men began to manipulate the natural world to satisfy their needs both physically and spiritually. The unchecked desire for more materials from the nature and reckless development without much consideration for the natural world incurred resi

16、stance from the nature. The conflict between men and the nature is inevitable. Although men may win in the first turn, the nature is always ready for the next attack for revenge. Just at the moment when there was a celebration of Beowulfs victory Grendels mother came from the sea to avenge her dead

17、son. The she-monster was more horrifying than Grendel. With great difficulty Beowulf won once again. The Danish king held a great feast to show respect to Beowulf and celebrate the big occasion. For another time men defeated the nature represented by Grendels mother and there was peace and happy lif

18、e after the battle, but the nature is hard to be controlled or subdued. Beowulf was made king of his own country, and his people enjoyed their life, but fifty years later, a fire dragon came out of its den belching fire. Many people died of fire and his homeland was ravaged. Many warriors were sent

19、to fight against the horrible dragon but one after another they were either killed or badly wounded. The whole country was plunged into great horror. Beowulf，an old king over eighty, could not wait for the vicious dragon to further destroy his land and harm his people. The old king decided to take t

20、he challenge to fight against the fire dragon for his men. After several days of fierce fight the old king killed the fire dragon, but he was badly wounded. Several days later the respected king died. There was ritual to praise the kings great deeds at the end of the poem.Although the fire dragon wa

21、s killed the old king also died after being fatally wounded. The fire dragon represents the third turn of attack from the nature on men. The attack is more violent than before. The fire dragon did not attack people before a man came into his den and stole the treasures there. Such an intrusion infur

22、iated the animal. The angry dragon killed the thief and began to take revenge on men. Such an incident tells us that reckless development or invasion into the depth of the nature has unimaginably terrible consequences.Beowulf has been interpreted as the conquest of the hostile forces of the nature w

23、ith the virtues of perseverance, bravery and physical strength, but from the three battles against Grendel, his mother and the fire dragon respectively we can clearly see the growing violence in their attack, indicating the worsening tension in the relationship between men and the nature. If such a

24、tension could not be reduced on mens part the consequences would be unpredictable. Without much consideration for the rights of the nature, the victim of the tension can not be only the nature, but also human beings.2. Eco-literature in English Romantic PeriodFrom the perspective of ecocriticism, En

25、glish Romantic poems are rich in ecological connotation. Critics have found ecological implication in the poems of all famous English Romantic poets. Byrons Darkness proposes that when ecosystem collapses, human bonds do so, too. Keats To Autumn” and Coleridges Frost at Midnight are thinkings of our

26、 bonds with each other and the earth, thinkings of fragile, beautiful, necessary ecological wholeness. Of all Romantic poems some of William Blakes poems and Samuel Taylor Coleridges The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are the most noteworthy in terms of ecoliterature.2.1 William Blakes EcopoemsThe natu

27、re is the main persona in many of English Romantic poems. In William Blakes poem The Ecchoing Green we see a picture of a harmonious coexistence of men and the nature. The Sun does arise,And make happy the skies.The merry bells ringTo welcome the Spring. The sky-lark and thrush,The birds of the bush

28、, Sing louder around,To the bells chearful sound.While our sports shall be seenOn the Ecchoing Green.Old John with white hairDoes laugh away care,Sitting under the oak,Among the old folk,They laugh at our play, And soon they all say,Such such were the joysWhen we all girls & boys,In our youth-time w

29、ere seen,On the Ecchoing Green.Till the little ones wearyNo more can be merryThe sun does descend,And our sports have an end:Round the laps of their mothers,Many sisters and brothers,Like birds in their nest,Are ready for rest;And sport no more seen,On the darkening Green.In the poem there is a wond

30、erful environment for people both young and old. Any living being has its place in the universe and such a place is irreplaceable. Any life form has its intrinsic value. Human beings should respect any living being, for every life form, whether superior or inferior in intelligence, is equal. The Fly

31、 is a poem to illustrate such a viewpoint.Little FlyThy summers play,My thoughtless handHas brushd away.Am not IA fly like thee?Or art not thouA man like me?In William Blakes eyes any living being has its value and significance in the world. Any life form is a member of the biological chain. In this

32、 chain any harm to any member is harm to the whole system. In Auguries of Innocence Blake shows the cost of ignorance of knowing nothing about the connection between all things in the world.The wanton Boy that kills the FlyShall feel the Spiders enmityHe who torments the Chafers spriteWeaves a Bower

33、 in endless NightThe Catterpiller on the LeafRepeats to thee thy Mothers griefKill not the Moth nor ButterflyIn William Blakes opinion any life form is equal, and therefore, human beings should treat them as their equals. Such an equal treatment of all living things can benefit human beings in retur

34、n. The respect of other living beings is actually and finally respect of human beings themselves.上一页 1 2 下一页 2.1 Samuel Taylor Coleridges EcopoetrySamuel Taylor Coleridge is also a great English Romantic poet with strong sense of ecology. His long narrative poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a

35、classic ecopoem. The long poem can be said to be an ecological allegory that predicts the ecological disaster caused by mens unwise and reckless harm to the nature.The narrative poem relates the experiences of the old mariner who has returned from a long sea voyage. The sailor stops a man who is on

36、the way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate his story. His tale begins with his ship departing on its journey. In spite of initial good fortune, the ship is driven south off course by a storm. When they eventually reach Antarctica, an albatross appears and leads them out of the Antarctic but

37、, even as the albatross is praised by the ships crew, the Mariner shoots the bird. The crew is angry with the Mariner, believing it was the albatross who brought the south wind that led them out of the Antarctic. However, the sailors change their minds when the weather becomes warmer and the mist di

38、sappears. But their support of this crime arouses the wrath of spirits who then pursue the ship from the land of mist and snow; the south wind that had initially led them out of the land of ice now sends the ship into uncharted waters, where it is becalmed.Day after day, day after day,We stuck, nor

39、breath nor motion;As idle as a painted shipUpon a painted ocean.Water, water, every where,And all the boards did shrink;Water, water, every where,Nor any drop to drink. Engraving by Gustave Dor for an 1876 edition of the poem. The Albatross, depicts 17 sailors on the deck of a wooden ship facing an

40、albatross. Icicles hang from the rigging.The nature is the nourisher and blessing giver for human beings, but the representative of the nature, the albatross is killed, which is mens ingratitude and incurs the natures revenge. Although there is water everywhere, theres no any drop of water suitable

41、for drinking. When all suffer from thirst, the sailors begin to change their minds again and blame the Mariner for the torment of their thirst. In anger, the crew forces the Mariner to wear the dead albatross about his neck, perhaps to show that he must suffer from killing it, or perhaps as a sign o

42、f regret. Later the ship encounters a ghostly vessel. On board are Death (a skeleton) and the Night-mare Life-in-Death (a deathly-pale woman), who are playing dice for the souls of the crew. With a roll of the dice, Death wins the lives of the crew and Life-in-Death wins the life of the Mariner. One

43、 by one, all of the crew members die, but the Mariner is left to endure a fate worse than death as punishment for his killing of the bird. Only the Mariner lives on, seeing for seven days and nights the curse in the eyes of the crews corpses, whose last expressions remain upon their faces. Eventuall

44、y, the Mariners curse is temporarily lifted when he sees sea creatures swimming in the water. Despite his cursing them as slimy things earlier in the poem, he suddenly sees their true beauty and blesses them, and just at that moment as he manages to pray, the albatross falls from his neck. The bodie

45、s of the crew, possessed by good spirits, rise again and steer the ship back home, where it sinks in a whirlpool, leaving only the Mariner behind. A hermit on the mainland sees the coming ship and comes to help with a pilot and the pilots boy in a boat. When they pull him from the water, they think

46、he is dead, but when he opens his mouth, the pilot has a fit. The hermit prays, and the Mariner picks up the oars to row. The pilots boy goes crazy and laughs, thinking the Mariner is the devil, and says, The Devil knows how to row. As punishment for shooting the albatross, the Mariner, driven by gu

47、ilt, is forced to wander the earth, tell his story, and teach a lesson to those he meets:He prayeth best, who loveth bestAll things both great and small;For the dear God who loveth us,He made and loveth all.After relating the story, the Mariner leaves, and the Wedding Guest returns home, and wakes t

48、he next morning a sadder and a wiser man.3. English Eco-literature in Modern PeriodAt the beginning of the third millennium, the state of nature is in great danger. The present and impending catastrophes are all too familiar. Carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels is trapping the hea

49、t of the sun, causing the planet to become warmer. Glaciers and permafrost are melting, sea levels rising, rainfall patterns changing, winds growing stronger. Meanwhile, the oceans are overfished, deserts are spreading, forests shrinking, fresh water becoming scarcer. The diversity of species upon the planet is diminishing.We live in a world of toxic waste,