(a) ECO-CRITICISM
Eco-criticism originated in a bio-social context of unrestrained capitalism, excessive exploitation of nature and worrying shapes of environmental hazards. It sees how a ‘literary text’ contributes into the ‘construction’ of nature and the politics of development (Nayar, 241). Eco-criticism focuses on the link between literature and nature. Raymond Williams in his ‘The Country and the City’(1973) elegantly argued how English Literature contributed to specific notions of nature (Nayar, 242). Thus, eco-criticism believes that literary, visual and other representations of nature have very much to do with an age’s views and treatment of nature. Further, it seeks links between literary studies and environmental activism, between …show more content…
Eliot composed ‘The Wasteland’ in the twentieth century after World War I. The century witnessed unprecedented growth of capitalism. The society was classified into two classes; the first which dominated the means of production, and second which served as means of production. The society was gradually divided into haves and have-nots. A handful of dominant class, typically ruled over a mass of dominated class. The kind of literature which could have appealed a larger number readership was the one where numerical strength was more. Historically, poetry has always been linked to the educated masses. A traditional poetry would never appeal the masses; therefore Eliot constructed a type of poetry in ‘The Wasteland’, which wasn’t meant just for a few rather it appealed to many. The structure of ‘The Wasteland’ is in the likeness of prose. The themes chosen though unrealistic could easily be identified by the weakclass. The symbolisms of brown fog on a winter noon, crowds of people walking, dead tree, broken images, oil and tar, the barman, the ugly-looking wife (Lil), the war-returned soldier(Albert), rat creeping through the vegetation, Mrs. Porter and her daughter, the typist girl, the small house agent’s clerk, etc. appeal to the weaker class as they were the ones who dealt with these common vocabulary almost every day. Such themes and events could easily be understood by the dominant class as they lived by these symbols everyday. Another remarkable feature of the poetry is its broken narrative. Even the dialogues between the characters are fragmented pieces. The broken narratives and fragmented dialogues appealed to the weak class. Words like ‘broken’ and ‘shattered’ were an everyday vocabulary for them. In their day-to-day life, likenesses of these words were experienced by them in the form of broken house, shattered hopes, etc. Similarly, the way the dominated class might converse with each other would not be a polished form of conversation. They would
Eco-criticism originated in a bio-social context of unrestrained capitalism, excessive exploitation of nature and worrying shapes of environmental hazards. It sees how a ‘literary text’ contributes into the ‘construction’ of nature and the politics of development (Nayar, 241). Eco-criticism focuses on the link between literature and nature. Raymond Williams in his ‘The Country and the City’(1973) elegantly argued how English Literature contributed to specific notions of nature (Nayar, 242). Thus, eco-criticism believes that literary, visual and other representations of nature have very much to do with an age’s views and treatment of nature. Further, it seeks links between literary studies and environmental activism, between …show more content…
Eliot composed ‘The Wasteland’ in the twentieth century after World War I. The century witnessed unprecedented growth of capitalism. The society was classified into two classes; the first which dominated the means of production, and second which served as means of production. The society was gradually divided into haves and have-nots. A handful of dominant class, typically ruled over a mass of dominated class. The kind of literature which could have appealed a larger number readership was the one where numerical strength was more. Historically, poetry has always been linked to the educated masses. A traditional poetry would never appeal the masses; therefore Eliot constructed a type of poetry in ‘The Wasteland’, which wasn’t meant just for a few rather it appealed to many. The structure of ‘The Wasteland’ is in the likeness of prose. The themes chosen though unrealistic could easily be identified by the weakclass. The symbolisms of brown fog on a winter noon, crowds of people walking, dead tree, broken images, oil and tar, the barman, the ugly-looking wife (Lil), the war-returned soldier(Albert), rat creeping through the vegetation, Mrs. Porter and her daughter, the typist girl, the small house agent’s clerk, etc. appeal to the weaker class as they were the ones who dealt with these common vocabulary almost every day. Such themes and events could easily be understood by the dominant class as they lived by these symbols everyday. Another remarkable feature of the poetry is its broken narrative. Even the dialogues between the characters are fragmented pieces. The broken narratives and fragmented dialogues appealed to the weak class. Words like ‘broken’ and ‘shattered’ were an everyday vocabulary for them. In their day-to-day life, likenesses of these words were experienced by them in the form of broken house, shattered hopes, etc. Similarly, the way the dominated class might converse with each other would not be a polished form of conversation. They would