Human-Nature Interactions in the New Normal World: A Study of Selected Pandemic Poems

Abstract

The global outbreak of the Corona Virus disease in this 21st Century not only shocked the sensibilities of people but also introduced emerging patterns of behaviour and interactions that have become the new normal. One of such altered interactions is in the aspect of human-nature relations. Many scholars have churned out volumes on the scope and implications of human activities on the environment; others have linked human-induced environmental challenges to patriarchal social conditioning and proposed the dismantling of all forms of dualisms, especially the human-nature dualism. But not many have represented the disposition of humans to the natural environment in the new normal world. Hence, this paper examines the selected pandemic poems in the light of emerging patterns of interaction with the environment, using the eco-critical theory. The study concludes that the selected poets have presented the new normal as a panacea to the lingering environmental challenges which have defied many solutions in the past decades and recommends further foray into environmentally friendly adaptation discourse in the new normal world. It is important for promoting the study of content and style in eco-critical discourse and for raising consciousness towards environmental sustainability.