Analysing the environment in verse: An ecocritical study of Julia Amukhoshi's Tales of the Rainbow: A collection of poetry in English and Anneli Nghikembua's A true me in words: An anthology of poems
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Date
2017
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
Environmental issues have become a matter of concern for many countries and educational institutions but this subject still remains largely under-investigated in literary studies, particularly in Africa. In this study, Ecocriticism was used in the analysis of Julia Amukoshi’s and Anneli Nghikembua’s poetry anthologies, Tales of the Rainbow: A collection of poetry in English and A True Me in Words: An Anthology of poems. Ecocriticism is concerned with the relationships between literature and environment or how human beings’ relationships with their physical environment are reflected in literature. The major focus was on how the poets used and depicted aspects of nature and for what reasons.
The study found that Amukoshi’s and Nghikembua’s poems are filled with significant symbolic images of nature through the use of semantic literary devices. The analysis also revealed that the poems present an interconnection between the poets and nature, whereby they treat every part in nature as if it is a creature that has a soul. Furthermore, the study established that recognizing environmental elements as entities of feeling through human depictions aids in connecting readers with their environment, which in turn culminates in a sustainable conservable relationship between the two. The study concluded that nature and humans are interdependent and that what happens to each would inevitably affect the other. However, nature can maintain itself without human interference, whereas humans need all the elements of nature to survive. The poets have successfully portrayed the environment in a positive manner. In addition the poets have managed to stimulate their audience to preserve and sustain the environment.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Studies
Keywords
Verse, Ecocritical