Though ecocriticism has emerged as a philosophical perspective only in the late 20th century and started being applied to literary study very recently, literary artists in great numbers have expressed their environmental concerns since the very beginning of literature itself. Lyric poetry is one of the oldest literary genres and is better known for its imaginative and musical qualities. But, besides its high amount of subjectivity, it can even reflect on the issues relating to Nature and the environment, as well as the growing complexity in the relationship between man and Nature. Poets have never failed to realize that material progress and ecological health can hardly have any permanent truce, that ecological integrity (Peterson, 2000; Pimental, 2000), which consists of both coherence and contradictions, is growingly endangered only with human interventions. Especially with the English romantic poets, the process of disseminating eco-consciousness got initiated in serious notes, and later on started gathering further momentum in the twentieth century beyond the geographical boundary. These poets formulated some original and innovative ways of understanding the world and its environment. Taking up a number of lyrics collected from across different cultures, and applying the ecocritical perspective to the textual analysis, this paper investigates the original and individualistic approaches adopted by the poets in viewing Nature and the environment. The article has examined the select lyrics that evince the potential for inspiring a deep ‘ecological’ understanding and formation of a modern ecological worldview in the Western and American intellectual traditions.
Kanak Kanti Bera (Mon,) studied this question.