An Analysis Of D.H. Lawrence's Pantheistic View Of Nature

D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) was one of most innovative and controversial literary figures in the 20th century. During his rather short writing career, he produced a huge bulk of novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, critical studies, and travel books. Though severely undervalued during his lifetime due to the sexual explicitness in his writings, his reputation has revived since the 1950s, and his position has been well-established in the literary history.This thesis is intended to explore his awareness of environment and his pantheistic view of nature. Chapter I provides a brief account of Lawrence's life and works, and comments on his literary achievements and on his pantheistic view of nature. Chapter II gives a brief introduction to pantheism, about its definition, chief ideas, and history. In contrast to theists who hold that God is a personal character who is different from the world he created, pantheists believe that everything that exists constitutes a "unity", and this unity is God, thus denying the existence of any personal God. Chapter III discusses Lawrence's pantheistic view of nature expressed in his works. First, Lawrence denies the existence of a personal God; second, Lawrence thinks that man and nature is unified by vitality, which exists in both man and the natural world. It is the industrialisation that damages the unity between man and nature, which is the root of the degeneration of Western Civilization. It is high time that man should restore the organic unity between man and nature. Chapter IV is an analysis of the four factors contributing to the forming of Lawrence's pantheistic view of nature, including personal experiences, social-historical background, ideological trend and literary heritage. Chapter V points out the significance of Lawrence's pantheistic view in the 21st century. In the light of the rapid rise of the green movement and eco-criticism, Lawrence ranks among the greatest prophets of the ecological crisis of the modern epoch. Chapter VI restates that Lawrence's view of nature is pantheistic.