Sichuan International Studies University On The Ecological Thoughts In Nabokov’s Poetry

Vladimir Nabokov is a well-known literary giant in the world whose works have been read and celebrated by countless readers.Many scholars and experts,whether domestic or foreign,have approached his works from different points of view,but they rarely scrutinise his works with the help of the blooming ecocriticism.This thesis is going to analyse the abstruse ecological thought in Nabokov’s Collected Poems with the help of ecocriticism,which arose in the mid-twentieth century and deals with the relation between mankind and nature and which,hopefully,can enrich people’s research in Nabokov and awake our environmental consciousness.This thesis consists of five parts: introduction,three chapters,and conclusion.In the “introduction”,there are a brief introduction of Nabokov and his poetry,the research that has been done by the predecessors,and an introduction of Lawrence Buell’s theory,combined with an acute awareness of the meaning and significance of environmental literature and ecocriticism.In the first chapter,this thesis divides Nabokov’s life into three phrases: his adolescence,his midlife,and his late years.Combined with his life experience,this thesis points out Nabokov is an ecological poet whose life is heavily bounded with nature and whose world view as well as aesthetics is shaped by it;vice versa,“ecological thoughts” have filtered into his lines and become a part that is worth of our worship.In the second chapter,this thesis explores the strong accusation Nabokov has towards our evil-doings to nature as well as his reminiscence of the environment before industrialisation and urbanisation.Chapter two holds the view that the thematic meaning and significance are far deeper and more abstract than critics presumes,for this collection contains a theory that man is an integral part of nature while man and nature form a unity of opposites.Those who damage or even destruct nature will be brutally punished by it,as it is shown in the long poem “The Ballad of Longwood Glen”.In “Lilith”,Nabokov also stresses that without nature,our doom is inevitable,hence a harmonious coexistence between man and nature is our best and only path.Chapter 3 summarises Nabokov’s proposal of the harmony between man and nature.The first section,“Eulogy for Nature”,crystallises Nabokov’s ecological thoughts;then from this point,the thesis analyses two blueprint that Nabokov proposes – “Rebuilding of the Natural Environment” and“The Unity of Urban and Natural Environment” – to conclude our future development,which should be based on ecological ethics and should achieve sustainability,coexistence and the harmony between mankind and nature.The last part is the conclusion,where the ecological thoughts in Nabokov’s poetry are concluded,and his contribution to modern environmental movement is highly celebrated,together with a description of the unfathomable meaning of reinterpreting Nabokov’s works from ecology’s point of view to literature study and environmental conservation.At the end of this thesis,it also suggests readers to be on guard against all kinds of environmental issues and to form environmental consciousness that should be widely spread in our era.