Ecological Literary Criticism: Romantic Imagining and the Biology of Mind

by Karl Kroeber

Je suis venu te dire que je m?en vais - Le poinçonneur des Lilas - La javanaise - Je t?aime moi non plus - La chanson de Prévert - Vieille canaille - Requiem pour un con - New York U.S.A. - Ballade de Johnny Jane - Dieu fumeur de havanes - 69 année érotiqIncludes these Année ÉrotiqueAccordéonAux Armes Et CaeteraAux Enfants De La ChanceBallade De Johnny JaneBallade De Melody NelsonBloody JackCharlotte For EverChez Les YéyéDes Laids, Des LaidsDieu Fumeur De HavanesEcce HomoEn Relisant Ta LettreFive Easy PisseusesJ?Entends Des Voix OffJe Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M?En VaisJe T?Aime Moi Non PlusL?Ami CaouetteL?Eau À La BoucheL?Homme À La Tête De ChouLa Chanson De PrévertLa JavanaiseLe Poinçonneur Des LilasLemon IncestLove On The BeatMarilou Sous La NeigeMon L

Genres: Literary Criticism

185 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Candy Wood]

In this 1994 book, Kroeber intends "to encourage the development of an ecologically oriented literary criticism," a corrective to recent criticism. Influenced by the Cold War, he says, the Yale formalists and new historicists could only see English romantic poets in terms of conflict, and although they disagreed in their approaches, both groups insisted that romantic writing about nature sought transcendence. Kroeber's own confrontational stance asserts that "Wordsworth was right," that the romantics were not interested in transcendence but in celebrating correspondences between humans and the natural world. Readings of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and (briefly) Byron support his claim, which is not that they were proto-ecologists but that reading their poetry from an ecological perspective can help us overcome the nature-culture dualism that distances us from nature. Kroeber also argues that humanists should pay more attention to scientific thought, and the last chapter brings in the "Neural Darwinism" of Gerald Edelman as another way of showing that Wordsworth was right.

[Nasreddine EL Guezar · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is gap between science and humanities. That’s what Kroeber is trying to convince his readers with in this book, Scientists with their focus on rationality and humanists with their focus on imagination and emotions. This gap can lead to the destruction of environment. So, what can fill the gap is Ecological literary criticism which can combine science and humanities alike. To back up his claim, Kroeber calls attention to romantic poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelly, etc. who had deep ecological messages and possessed a great understanding of the importance of imagination to attain well-informed ecological views.

[abby murrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

kroeber needs to figure out one opinion and stick to it