Volume-III, Issue-I, August 2026
Novel Insights A Peer-Reviewed Quarterly Multidisciplinary Research Journal |
Volume-III, Issue-I , August 2026 |
Earth, Self and the Universe: An Ecocritical Exploration of Whitman and Nazrul's Poetry Shirin Akter, Senior Lecturer, Department of Bangla Language and Literature, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh Email: shirin.akter@ulab.edu.bd |
Received: 06.08.2026 | Accepted: 27.08.2026 | Published Online: 31.08.2026 |
Page No: 26-36 | DOI: 10.69655/novelinsights.vol.3.issue.01W.114 | |
Abstract | ||
The study of representations of the natural environment in a literary text is commonly termed as eco criticism. It emerged as a critical and cultural approach to literary analysis while the voice rose against the crucial environmental crisis over the world in the later 1980s. Since the onset of industrialization and the rise of the capital economy, the rift between humans and the natural environment has grown steadily. Throughout the ages, poets and authors have stressed the importance of a harmonious relationship between man and the natural world to ensure a balanced and peaceful coexistence. To the utter misery, humans have shown a profound lack of concern inviting impending dangers for upcoming generations. Nowadays, numerous literary works are being analyzed through an ecocritical point of view to warn people of its dire consequences. This paper has been planned keeping this concern in mind. Here the major poems of the leading American poet Walt Whitman and Bengali National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam have been studied from an ecocritical point of view. Nature has always been the core point of interest in their literary works, which they respectively blend with their contextual observations with artistic presentations. Whitman invokes expansive verses and free verse forms suiting the best to convey the vibrancy of landscapes, affirming a harmonious relationship between humankind and the natural environment. In contrast, Kazi Nazrul Islam, the revolutionary poet of Bengal, exclusively infuses his works with intense passion and a spirit of rebellion reflecting the turbulent socio-political backdrop of early 20th-century India. By juxtaposing the ecocritical perspectives of Nazrul and Whitman, this study attempts to depict how these poets versify their ecological consciousness and retain a deeper appreciation for the natural world through their poetic creations. Keywords: Ecology, degradation, humanity, environment, coexistence | ||