Abstract
In varying degrees, Arabic poetry is rich with natural images but they are employed differently by Arab poets. This article analyses some selected Arabic poems through the lens of ecocriticism to explore how the natural environment is always a shaping force of individuals and contribute to the greening of resistance through parts of the biotic community in the Arab world. The premise of this article has its roots in the recent ecocritical arguments on the elastic and permeable boundaries of the field and its applicability as a lens through which to read any literary text. The discussion is focused on some selected Arabic poems which lend themselves well to the ecocritical interpretation and show how the Arab poets such as Mahmoud Darwish, Tawfiq Zayyad, Fadwa Tuqan, and Salem Jubran engage the natural environment in their poems. The analysis of the selected poems, which represent the other Arabic poems of their genre, advocates the ecocritical way of expressing resistance in Arabic poetry to signify the profound presence and engagement of the natural world in exhibiting the human resistance to the occupation of the land. It also reveals that the Arab poets have highlighted the interconnectedness between the human and nonhuman world in their poetry. By incorporating the Arab viewpoints and voices such as the ones we presented in this article, ecocriticism is instrumental in meeting its targeted scope as a multinational, multi vocal, multicultural area of scholarship. Keywords: ecocriticism; natural environment; resistance; Arabic poetry; Arab poets DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/3L-2015-2101-02
Highlights
The advent of ecocriticism is regarded as one of the most significant developments in literary studies and criticism worldwide. Soper & Bradley (2013) remark that “it has been hailed as one of the most timely and provocative developments in literary and cultural studies in recent decades” (p. xiii). Glotfelty (1996) in her introduction to The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology argues that “ecocriticism has been predominately a white movement
Furthering the argument in the recent decade, Estok (2013) asserts that “while ecocriticism began as an American academic pursuit, it is a multinational, multi vocal, multicultural area of scholarship” (p. 1)
We argue that an ecocritical reading is of immense value if applied to Arabic poetry since it is targeted to scrutinise how “the natural environment is always a shaping force of individual and group psychology and identity” (Wallace and Armbruster 2001, p. 7)
Summary
The advent of ecocriticism is regarded as one of the most significant developments in literary studies and criticism worldwide. Soper & Bradley (2013) remark that “it has been hailed as one of the most timely and provocative developments in literary and cultural studies in recent decades” (p. xiii). Glotfelty (1996) in her introduction to The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology argues that “ecocriticism has been predominately a white movement. Glotfelty (1996) in her introduction to The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology argues that “ecocriticism has been predominately a white movement It will become a multi-ethnic movement when stronger connections are made between the environment and issues of social justice and when a diversity of voices are encouraged to contribute to the discussion” We have selected some Arabic poems in English that lend themselves well to the ecocritical interpretations because the poets make vivid interconnections between the human and nonhuman world by utilising nature as a form of human resistance to the occupation of the land Both land, in its collective meaning, and people are sums of the greater whole that Laurence Coupe (2000) describes as “the biotic community” which are governed by the concerns of “land ethic”: The appeal to ecology is a matter of ethics. As Sinno (2013) concludes, “a legitimate project, worthy of further investigation and integration into the growing ecocriticism scholarship in the USA and the world” (p. 142-143)
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