Song Of Harmony—An Eco-feminist Perspective Of Harmony In Wordsworth's Nature Poetry

This thesis has made an in-depth study on William Wordsworth's thought of harmony in his nature poetry from the perspective of ecofeminism.On the basis of a thorough understanding of the theory of ecofeminism,the connotations of harmony in ecofeminism have been further completed and deepened by the harmonious thought of Taoism.Simultaneously,under the guidance of the harmonious thought of ecofeminism,the thesis has probed into Wordsworth's thought of harmony that nature,male,female,man and himself are living together,caring for each other,and helping each other on an equal basis.After thorough exploration,this thesis has proved that Wordsworth is not,just as some critics have said,a conservative,backward,or passive romantic poet,and that his poems are not media for the propaganda of anthropocentrism and patriarchy.Instead,he is an open-minded poet who has profound harmonious thought,ecological consciousness and gender equality consciousness.The author considers that,for one thing,studies on Wordsworth's nature poetry at home and abroad are limited to the study on Wordsworth's pure view of nature,or criticism of Wordsworth's negative romanticism of escaping from reality and reclusion in nature;for the other,Wordsworth is fiercely criticized by feminists,thinking that growing up in a male society with strong patriarchy,Wordsworth takes a conservative and backward view of women.The reason is that Wordsworth shows strong thought of masculine centralism in his nature poetry,and that his nature poetry is medium for advocating anthropocentrism and patriarchy.As far as the author is concerned,the above interpretations of Wordsworth's nature poetry have great limitations and need to be further discussed.Ecofeminism combines the realistic concerns of eco-criticism on natural and ecological problems and the humanistic care of women's living state of feminism.It advocates combining feminist issues with environmental issues and opposes the patriarchal world view as well as the dualistic thinking mode.Moreover,it takes opposing gender oppression,pursuing women's liberation and solving the ecological crisis as its goal,aiming to construct a new,balanced,and inseparable relationship between human and nature,male and female,and among the people.From the perspective of ecofeminism,especially ecofeminist thought of harmony,this thesis has probed into the progressiveness and historical limitations of Wordsworth's harmonious thought in his nature poetry and the following conclusions have been drawn.From the perspective of ecofeminism,for one thing,Wordsworth has surpassed the time he was in,which is mainly revealed in his nature poetry.Wordsworth shows his deep concern about harmony between mankind and nature,his good aspiration for gender equality,and his persistent pursuit of restoration of humanity harmony;for the other,there are historical limitations in Wordsworth's thought of harmony.Firstly,his description of nature is too monotonous and his understanding of natural values just stays on natural artistic aesthetic value or spiritual pleasure value,rather than the multiple values of nature.Secondly,his view of women does not completely escape from the influence of patriarchy since he may show masculine centralism thought to a certain extent in his poetry.Last but not least,his exploration of humanity harmony is a utopian exploration of wishful thinking in an ideal society of self-construction.In general,though Wordsworth's thought of harmony has historical limitations,in a society of anthropocentrism and patriarchy,Wordsworth can pay attention to nature and ecology,show respect for women,and express concern about women's discourse power.All those prove that Wordsworth's harmonious thought is undoubtedly positive and progressive,and is of great importance for modern exploration of ecological and gender issues.