Environmental and Ecocritical Concerns in Regional Poetry with Special Focus on Bhai Vir Singh`s Poetry

Kaur, Zameerpal; Kaur S.

Environmental and Ecocritical Concerns in Regional Poetry with Special Focus on Bhai Vir Singh`s Poetry

Date

2014

Authors

Kaur, Zameerpal

Kaur S.

Publisher

Asian Journal of Literature, Culture and Society

Abstract

With the initiative taken by Cheryll Glotfelty, the new discipline and theory known as Ecocriticism came into existence. Ecocriticism tries to explore the relationship of literature with the natural world and further it examines the role that natural surroundings and environment play in the minds of the creative writers during their imagination and creative process. The present study is an attempt to focus on Bhai Vir Singh’s selected poetry in the theoretical framework of ecocriticism in order to shed light on the poet’s vigilant views about the relationship of human life and nature. Bhai Vir Singh is a renowned modern Punjabi poet and novelist. He is essentially a poet of nature and mysticism. His opinions towards nature support his position to be considered as a major representative of recent environmental issues and ecocritical concerns in Punjabi literature. He could also be called the father of modern Punjabi literature as he began to write in this language when nobody was interested in it. It was an era when people's thoughts were more influenced by Urdu and Persian. He gave Punjabi verse a sophistication and new expressions. He draws the attention of the lethargic and the inert towards the imperishable beauties of the universe. He sought objective correlatives from the world of nature, flowers, springs, and birds to invoke the invisible and abstract force which is active behind the external visible reality. He was the first one to use blank verse form in poetry and was the author of numerous novels, plays and poetry collections. In this paper, an attempt has been made to explore an integral relationship woven between nature and man through the pen of Bhai Vir Singh.

Keywords

Ecocriticism

Citation

Kaur, Z. and Kaur S. (2014) Environmental and Ecocritical Concerns in Regional Poetry with Special Focus on Bhai Vir Singh`s Poetry. Asian Journal of Literature, Culture and Society. Vol. 8. No. 2., PP. 28-43.