Ecological Thoughts In Elizabeth Bishop's Poetry

Elizabeth Bishop(1911-1979)is considered as one of the greatest poets in 20~thh century,she is not prolific but she has been exquisite in craftsmanship and rich in quality.She has won the Nobel Prize in Literature and the National Book Award.Bishop's poem collections of North&South,A Cold Spring,Questions of Travel are abundant with rich descriptions about nature,thus her poetry is embodied with ecological thoughts.Through close reading,this thesis intends to explore the ecological thoughts in Bishop's poetry by analyzing the natural ecology,social ecology and spiritual ecology based on relevant theories about Ecocriticism:Lu Shuyuan's“ecological trichotomy”and Aldo Leopold's“land ethics”,and discusses her appeal for ecological harmony.The thesis is composed of six chapters.Chapter one briefly introduces Bishop's life experience and her works,and summarizes the literature review of scholars at home and abroad,and points out the research significance and layout of the thesis.The second chapter aims at exploring the environmental pollution brought about by the development of industrialization,as well as the human control over nature,condemning the long-standing hegemony on nature.The third chapter discusses the underpinning of the people at the bottom of the society under the influence of the Great Depression,revealing the hypocrisy of capitalism,and it leads to the imbalanced relationship between gender as well.Chapter four illustrates the spiritual ecological crisis including man's alienation from the society brought by modern civilization and Bishop's endless pursuit for seeking a spiritual homeland.The fifth chapter explains Bishop's appeal to pursue ecological harmony.Firstly,shows the reverence for nature.Secondly,she advocates returning to nature to enjoy the“sensation of joy”.Finally,she wants to return to the“proto-dream-house”and live a barely disturbed life.The last chapter summarizes the thesis,points out the major findings of the thesis,and analyzes its shortcomings.In conclusion,this thesis systematically interprets the ecological thoughts in Bishop's poetry.Through the description of human and nature,it reveals the poet's desire to establish an ecological concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.With the deterioration of the ecological crisis,human beings must rethink the relationship between man and nature.The thesis will have certain referential significance for the construction of ecological civilization in contemporary era.