A Deep Ecological Approach To Robert Frost's Poetry

Robert Frost is a famous American poet of the 20^th century. Most of his poetry employs New England as a backdrop, with the accompaniment of full-bodied country flavor and enticing pastoral sentiment. His work is not only poetically meaningful and philosophically rich, but more importantly, it bears realistic significance with implied deep ecological consciousness. This thesis is to explore the deep ecological consciousness in Frost's poetry by employing Arne Naess's theory of deep ecology and especially the two ultimate norms: biocentric equality, self-realization and the guiding principle: "simple in means, rich in ends" and to further explore the formation of his deep ecological consciousness.This thesis is divided into five parts. The Introduction gives a brief account of the development of deep ecology and the increasingly severe ecocrisis, and then explains the motivation and social significance of selecting Frost as a case study. Finally, the author of the thesis sums up the general studies on Frost and points out the novelty of this thesis. Chapter 1 introduces the relevant theory of deep ecology proposed by Arne Naess which echoes the deep ecological consciousness embodied in Frost's poetry. Chapter 2 is the core of this thesis. It mainly analyzes the deep ecological consciousness in Frost's poetry through textual analysis. Frost regards that man and nature are equal, interacted and interrelated with each other. In order to achieve self-realization, man should treat nature properly. Frost doesn't approve the lifestyle of his age which pursues excessive material standard. He opposes the richness of material wealth brought about by industrial civilization which is based on science and technology, industrialization and commercialization and advocates a pastoral life. Chapter 3 questions the formation of Frost's deep ecological consciousness which is a complicated process. With the study of Frost's poetry, letters, and some comments concerning him, we find there are three major factors contributing to the formation of his deep ecological consciousness: 1) Frost's religious belief; 2) Frost's reading experience; 3) Frost's life experiences.The research indicates that Frost's portrayal of man and nature in his poetry embodies deep ecological consciousness. This thesis aims to probe into Frost's poetry from a deep ecological perspective which can enhance our understanding of his poetry and furthermore bring a balanced relationship between man and nature.