An Ecocritical Analysis of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s in Memoriam and the Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson

Abstract

This paper explores the ecocritical connotations of Tennyson’s In Memoriam and the selected poems of Emily Dickinson. Both are the famous nineteenth century poets but belong to different nations and lands. Ecocriticism as a literary field developed in the last decade of the twentieth century. But the natural world was going through deterioration a long time before that. The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century was the hallmark of a large scale use of the natural resources which resulted into their destruction. But the poetry of Tennyson and Dickinson tries to raise the awareness among the people about securing the natural world and appreciating its beauties rather than exploiting it. Tennyson’s In Memoriam is explored by focusing on the homoerotic desire and the desire for the pleasant natural world as are presented in the poem. Dickinson’s poems are read by taking into account their environmental friendly ideas and meanings. Both the poets were aware about the importance of the natural world for human beings as can be seen through the ecocritical reading of their poetry.