Ecocriticism and Poetry: The Perception of Nature in Literature
Plato, in his dialogue Timaeus, mentions that plants were created to help humans survive. Aristotle also, in his treatise On the Soul, stated that the soul is characterized by its capacities for nourishment, sensation, intellect, and movement. Of these, plants possess only the capacity for nourishment. While Aristotle emphasizes the shared mental foundation of all living beings, he assigns a more biological significance to the soul of plants compared to Plato’s more philosophical reference.
Plato’s mention of the senses and desires of plants, combined with Neoplatonism, triggered a spiritual understanding of plants within the philosophy and literature of Romanticism. In literature, myth, and even in daily life, plants are emotionally and ideologically charged.
The idea that plants correspond to an archetype or express and reveal a divine presence in nature was central to the literature and philosophy of Romanticism. Transitioning from Romanticism to Modernism, we find Baudelaire, the poet of anti-nature — not in the sense of opposing nature, but rather in his search for the beauty of evil in nature, as the title of his collection The Flowers of Evil suggests. Baudelaire’s poetry also marks the shift from nature to the urban environment. In one of his notes, Baudelaire writes that “the dizzying sensation one feels in a big city is proportional to what one experiences in the midst of nature.”
However, while Baudelaire still portrays a harmonious relationship between the world of nature and the city, a defining characteristic of Modernism is the rupture between humans and nature. T.S. Eliot’s, “The Waste Land”, is regarded in ecocritical studies as a harbinger of the ecological crisis we face today. According to Elizabeth Black, The Waste Land presents a society alienated from nature and on the brink of environmental collapse. “April is the cruellest month,” Eliot writes, as the rebirth of new life revives painful memories buried beneath the snow. The traumatic feeling of a lost past and the painful disconnect from nature can also be observed in some works by Seferis.
It is notable that although Ecocriticism has gained significant traction in European and global studies, it has not been fully utilized in contemporary Greek literature. Ecocriticism is a burgeoning field formed through the collaboration of environmental science, literature, and the arts. The terms ecology and ecocriticism describe this new relationship between art and nature, often connected to issues related to the global ecological crisis.
Ecocriticism examines the relationship between humans and the natural world in literature. It explores how environmental issues, cultural perspectives on the environment, and attitudes toward nature are presented and analyzed. One of the main goals of ecocriticism is to study how individuals in society react to and behave towards nature and ecological concerns. This form of criticism has garnered much attention in recent years due to the increased societal focus on environmental degradation and technological advancement.
Ecocriticism first emerged as a major theoretical movement in the 1990s, aiming to relate literature to the natural environment with the hope that action could be taken against climate change and the destruction of natural habitats. Ecocriticism has a strong ethical component, as the reading of literature is intended to inspire political activism and drive real-world change.
Literary texts can help us realize how humans exploit nature for their own purposes, while also allowing us to fully appreciate the beauty of our environment. They describe the beauty of the natural world, encouraging us to immerse ourselves in nature. Ecocriticism is the result of this new awareness: that soon there may be nothing left in nature to celebrate unless we act carefully.
Ecocritics analyze the human perception of wilderness, how it has evolved over time, and whether or not contemporary environmental issues are accurately depicted in popular culture and modern literature. Other disciplines, such as history, economics, philosophy, ethics, and psychology, are also considered by ecocritics to contribute to this field.
Ecocriticism is interdisciplinary, calling for collaboration between scientists, writers, literary critics, anthropologists, historians, and others. It challenges us to reflect on ourselves and the world around us, critiquing how we represent, interact with, and construct the environment. Approaching a topic from an ecocritical perspective means asking questions not only about a primary literary text but also about broader cultural attitudes toward nature. In this way, ecocriticism brings new dimensions to the analysis and interpretation of literary works and cultural narratives.
Sofia Skleida
Teacher, Writer, MA, Ph.D, Postdoc ,
Academic Director Poetry Department of International Art Institute Europe (International Academy MAQ-IAMAQ)
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About the Author
Sofia Skleida was born in Athens. She studied Philology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens where she obtained her BA, MA in Pedagogy, Ph.D in Comparative Pedagogy and a postdoctoral research certificate. She also obtained a certification in the Braille language. Today she works as a teacher in secondary education. She took part in conferences and published articles in the Greek and international scientific journals and in conference papers. She was awarded for her participation in poetry and literary contests in Greece and abroad. Her poems have been translated into Italian, English, Spanish, Albanian, Romanian and Bangla. She has published a total of twenty books. She is Vice-President of the Zakynthian Cultural Institute, Member of the jury for new members of the Association of Greek Writers, a regular member at the Panhellenic Union of Writers and at the Association of Greek Writers.