ECOCRITICISM- UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT IN INDIAN ENGLISH NOVELS

Geeta Sahu

Abstract


Ecocriticism is the study of representations of nature in literary works and of the relationship between literature and the environment. As a separate movement or school of literary criticism, ecocriticism started developing in the 1990s. There is a close relation between ecocriticism and literature. It is an interdisciplinary study of Ecology and Literary Criticism which is unusual as a combination of a natural science and a humanistic discipline. By analogy, ecocriticism is concerned with the relationships between literature and environment or how man's relationships with his physical environment are reflected in literature. This paper discusses the term ecocriticism and the role of ecocriticism in literature. It cites examples of how the theme of ecocriticism can be interpreted through the reading of three India novels, namely, Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, Cry, the Peacock by Anita Desai and The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh.

Keywords


Ecocriticism; Indian novels; Man- nature relationship

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References


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