Environmental and Literature

 What is Environmental Literature?

Exploring Ecocriticism, Pastoral Literature, and Nature Writing

by Mary Gel Marsan

 

Since prehistory, literature, and other forms of art draw inspiration on environment as subjects as well as muses, for example in poetry. The portrayals of physical environment and human-environment relationship are written and recorded ever since.

 

The environment involves physical, chemical, and other nature forces. A sum of all the living and nonliving elements that affect human life and experiences.

 

Themes and representations of the environment varies across different texts. The following are examples of environmental themes in literature: climate change, animal extinction, habitat destruction, urbanization, world population growth, pollution, ecosystem restoration, etc.

 

Now, let’s get to the three subfields of environmental literature,

 

1.     Ecocriticism;

2.   Pastoral literature; and

3.   Nature writing

 

Ecocriticism emerged as a necessary genre in contemporary literature, reflecting society’s expanding concern for environmental issues and sustainability. It studies the relationship between literature and the physical nature.

 

Like Feminist criticism that focuses mainly on the language and literature from a gender perspective, ecocriticism takes an earth centered approach to literary studies.

 

How is it done?

-        Read

-        Identify representations/themes.

-        Examine how these themes are used.

-        Evaluate implications.

 

Pastoral Literature is a genre usually in poetry that explores the connections between human life and nature; it romanticizes the life of shepherds in rural environments and are presented as being free from the corruption and complexities of city life.

So, basically it depicts an idealized form of the lifestyle of shepherds. The target audience is typically an urban one.

 

Types of Pastoral Literature:

1.     Pastoral eclogue- form is commonly dialogue or a soliloquy.

 

2.   Pastoral Elegy- poem about lamentation and peaceful rural life

 

3.   Pastoral Romance- romantic story set in the countryside.

 

4.   Pastoral Ode- dignified and a serious poem about the simple living

5.    Pastoral Novel- lengthy story set in a rural society.

 

Nature Writing is a creative nonfiction in which the natural environment that the narrator encounter with the physical world serves as the main subject. This literary genre allows us to evaluate how we, the human beings belong and take part in the community, the history of the land, the movement of people. And the formation of the community. Ultimately, nature writing is broader than the other two.

 

Finally, understanding this interconnectedness provides us the channel to appreciate and give importance in how both literary texts and the world shape each other, influence our humanity, and create big impact to the challenges our world face in the past, present, and in the future.

 

In this post, I have only included the three main subsections of environmental literature and the themes and representations that are most important as introduction to the relationship among the environment and literature. However, if you are interested and are willing to spend more time studying this topic, don’t forget to visit free traffic like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, etc.