Shakespeare's The Tempest In The Vision Of Ecocriticism

Ecocriticism emerges in the field of literary criticism in the face of the environmental degradation and ecological crisis. As a tend of literary and cultural criticism, Deep Ecology is based on eco-criticism, aims to eliminate anthropocentric ideas and is supported by the social ecology. In this way, experts seek to resolve the ecological crisis in the field of literary research in practice. The Tempest, customarily identified as one of the plays in Shakespeare's last stage, explores the relationship between man and nature and further probes the destruction of the original social relationship when the ecological balance is broken. In The Tempest, Shakespeare tends to reflect the change that has been thought about the result of the upset balance and the human beings'pursuit of harmonious relationship between man and man, between man and nature has been absent.The paper manages to analyze Shakespeare's The Tempest by the approach of ecoriticism. The introduction includes three parts. Firstly, it presents a literature review on The Tempest. Secondly, it introduces the emergence of ecocritisim and traces its historical developments and philosophical foundation in Deep Ecology. Finally, it states the affinity between The Tempest and ecocriticism. Chapter One discusses the ecological crisis on the island in The Tempest. Prospero, as a represent of human beings, carries out a series of actions to nature by exerting the supernatural power, such as deforestation and colonization, which leads to the ecological crisis. The last part of Chapter One is devoted to the possible way out of the ecological crisis both in and out of the play. Chapter Two discusses the social ecological elements concerning the disharmonious relationship by presenting the facts that are Prospero's education and punishment of Caliban, management of Ariel, and domination of the island in the hegemony. It concludes that Prospero breaks the original social relations by the colonial control of the natives. Chapter Three probes the fact that Prospero makes use of the marriage between his daughter and Ferdinand, which reflects that Prospero resolves the contradictions with a heart of forgiveness though the marriage is not perfect. However The Tempest yearns for true love, based on the love of Miranda and Ferdinand. In the final section of Chapter Three analyzes the contradiction between Christianity and humanism, reflecting Shakespeare's spiritual pursuit in "The Tempest".The paper intends to analyze Shakespeare's view of harmony from three aspects of ecocriticism: ---natural ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology. It concludes that in The Tempest Shakespeare has foretold us the truth that man is only an indispensable part of the nature, being depended and depending. The significance of approaching The Tempest from the vision of ecocriticism lies in its instructiveness in re-interrogating man & nature relationship and in revitalizing ecological consciousness in an individual. The human being seeks to gain the short-sighted profits at the expense of upsetting the original ecological balance, destroying the harmonious social relationship, even losing the spiritual pursuit.