Discovering a universal definition of literature has since its advent been elusive. No single definition of literature is agreed upon to be wholly objective and universal. For what constitutes literature changes according to the prevailing realities and dictates of a particular age.
Today, the term is no longer limited to the traditional definition; which limits literature to “any written text that has intellectual or artistic value.” 21st-century literature, is considered to include the following: photographs, music, paintings, comic skits, speeches, memoirs, movies, etc. Bob Dylan for much of his career was perceived to be a singer and songwriter; until he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. This illustrates the ever changing nature of literature.
For the purpose of this article, however, literature is any written, painted, spoken or sung text that passes a message. Simply put, literature is the mirror and foundation of the world; it concerns all aspects of human, animal and plant life.
Having said that, ecocriticism or what is otherwise called green studies in the United Kingdom is a literary movement that studies the relationship between literature and the physical environment. The movement is purported to have started in the 1980s in USA and its acknowledged founder is Cheryll Glotfelty.
Ecocriticism takes its form and structure from the writings of three major 19th-century nature writers; Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller and Henry David Thoreau. They were philosophers whose writings were tuned majorly to issues of nature; rivers, trees, forests, etc.
Ecocriticism is any form of literature that thematically warns us of looming environmental crisis springing from industrial, individual, governmental and commercial forces or activities. Ecocritics perceive nature to be an entity that affects us and which we can affect, albeit destructively if we mistreat her. Ecocritics seek to bring issues of nature to the front burner so that we can think and act differently towards mother earth and her accompanying constituents.
Ecocriticism puts into perspective the fact that cultural and societal attitudes to nature differ (some cultures worship trees, fire or water bodies, while some hold specific animals or forests in high reverence). That people’s culture and social attitudes can affect the way they treat and respond to concerns of nature. In religion, nature is perceived to play a crucial role. For example, Moses is recorded to have received the Ten Commandments on a mountain; Jesus goes into the wilderness to pray; Muhammad received his first revelation while in a cave. Natural forces like mountains and water bodies, therefore have significant representations in our spiritual lives.
The concerns of ecocriticism further goes ahead to ascertain that issues of class, gender and race affect our environment. For instance, poor people have to rely on poaching for their protein and resort to fire wood for cooking which directly impacts our climate i.e global warming. Ecocritics therefore posit that issues of class, gender and racial imbalance must be rectified if global warming and other climatic catastrophe must be conquered.
Books like Angel CatBird, The Road to Winter, The God of Small Things, The Year of the Flood, Oil on Water, Wives Revolt are all classified as ecocriticism books.
“Every age has its own poetry; in every age, the circumstances of history choose a nation, a race, a class to take up the torch by creating situations that can be expressed or transcended only through poetry.” – Jean Paul Sartre
As earlier stated, literature has a fluid nature therefore every age has a peculiar and prevailing thematic preoccupation. The subject of African colonial literature protested against colonialism. Whilst post-colonial African literature treats subjects of corruption and oppression of Africans, by leaders of African extraction. Twenty-first century literature, should therefore heavily dwell and address issues of climate change and its effects. To spur global awareness and stir collective universal action, because it is obvious from all indications that politics alone cannot address climate change.