SHADES OF ECOCRITICISM IN TRAVEL LITERATURE: AN EXPLORATION

Abstract

Abstract

Incorporation of the itinerary writings in the orientations of English literature through interdisciplinary approaches, linking nature with human imagination and reality, is not a nouveau phenomenon. It engages one of the most factual endeavors to the most dynamic forms of writing. The contention of this colossal study can be traced back to the beginning of discoveries across the globe, from the ancient to the modern. Replete with practical cognizance, travel writing incorporated information from multi-dimensional pull and the genre was spearheaded with two major facts: its international and comparative reach and familiarity with actual words of literature. The scopes of these certain perennial encounters, from Bacon’s Of Travel to Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads, surrogate a future philosophical paradigm in English literature to be recognized later as roots of Ecocriticism. Through their travel account and comments based on perception and realization, they have ushered a counter hegemony that had already been established in the more perused form of description and made clear indications on use and abuse of nature. The primary focus of this paper is to follow the trajectory of travel literature from the 17th century to the 19th century and beyond in order to establish the genre of travel literature as one of the basic areas where facets of Ecocriticism comfortably embedded could be revealed, even of modern relevance. Key words: Adventure, Nature, Travel writing, Literature, Romanticism, Ecocriticism.