The Growth of Eco-criticism as a Literary Theory

Abstract

Literature studies have long been preoccupied with historical perspectives. However, in recent years, critics have been more mindful of the relationship between literature and geography, and have derived ideas from their shared research. Nature and literature have always shared a close relationship as is evidenced in the works of poets and other writers down the ages in almost all cultures of the world. The world of literature throngs with works dealing with beauty and power of nature. The New Literatures in English among other manifest and symbolic representations also deal with nature as a very significant issue. However, the concern for ecology and the threat that the continuous misuse of our environment poses on humanity have only recently caught the attention of the writers. It is this sense of concern and its reflection in literature that have given rise to a new branch of literary theory, namely eco-criticism. This research paper provides a brief overview of eco-criticism's development as a literary theory from the early to mid-twentieth century. It reflects on the emergence of eco-criticism, a theory that examines a literary text in relation to its surroundings and portrays the underlying interconnectedness of human-nature life.