ECOLOGICAL THEMES IN THE POETRY OF A. R. AMMONS, ALLEN GINSBERG, AND GARY SNYDER

In the nineteen-sixties, many Americans have shown an interest both in the science of ecology and in Eastern religions that advocate a close relationship between man and nature. This dissertation describes the influence of the popular ecological consciousness in the nineteen-sixties on the poetry of the same period. The author maintains that A. R. Ammons, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder exhibit the most thorough ecological consciousness among poets in the second half of the twentieth century.;The author establishes working criteria for treating the ecological themes in the poetry of Ammons, Ginsberg, and Snyder. He holds that these poets affirm the interdependence of man and nature based on the scientific facts which consider man a member in an interconnected network of life. Some, like Ginsberg, see spiritual as well as scientific links between man and nature. Ammons, Ginsberg, and Snyder also address modern man's abuse of nature's resources, voicing various degrees of objection towards exploitative practices. They also have a view of the secular future. Whereas Ammons believes that the natural process will take care of its own, Ginsberg is convinced that all is lost and hopeless. Snyder, on the other hand, sees beyond the destruction and believes that healing is possible, and that the poet plays an important role in bringing about a new reality based on ecological ideals.;The author begins by providing a poetical background for the evolution of attitudes towards nature in American literature. He holds that Emerson and Whitman voice many of the spiritual concerns many nineteen-sixties' poets express. He also sees Frost's insistence on the 'otherness' of nature as an important landmark in the development of scientific and spiritual ecological outlooks in American poetry. The author maintains that Jeffers' 'inhumanism' is another significant turning point that helped bring about a realization that man's dominance over nature is not justified. The author sees a beginning of scientific and spiritual ecological consciousness in the poetry of both Olson and Bly.