Asian Online Journals (www.ajouronline.com) 234 Literature and the Endangered World: A Comparative Study of Selected Works of Eastern and Western Poets

ABSTRACT — Ecocriticism is a new field of enquiry and being so there is yet to be a consensus as to its definition. Glotfelty (1996) defines ecocriticism as “the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment. ” As we are aware, debates on the environmental problems faced by mankind is raging on around the world. According to Hong (2008) ecocriticism is a newly-emerging literary theory standing out in the late 20th century. Siddiqui (2012) defines ecocriticism as an interdisciplinary mode of thinking which studies environmental issue and literature. Kerridge (1998) claims ecocriticism seeks to evaluate text and ideas in terms of their coherence and usefulness as responses to environmental crisis. Buell (2001) claims that there are several defining motifs or topoi in toxic discourse; shock of awakened perception, disenchantment from the illusion of a green oasis accompanied or precipitated by totalising images of a world without refuge from toxic penetration and linking environmental reform with social justice against a common enemy of corporate greed. However, he goes on to add that, there is a gamut of possible reactions including outrage, acquiescence, impotence, denial and desperation (Buell, 2001, 36). In this paper, the researchers analysed the link between literature and environment with focus on one genre which is poetry. In addition to analysing the link, the researchers will also do a comparative analysis of selected works of Western and Asian poets. The purpose is to identify the similarities and differences in the approaches adopted by these poets using Buell’s identification of motif’s and reactions towards the destruction of nature at the expense of development. Buell’