Ecological Reading Of Shakespeare’s Sonnets

As one of the representatives in English Renaissance, Shakespeare was an diligent andproductive writer, whose various works no matter in drama or poetry, were an epitome of thewhole western culture, and had a great impact on the later generations. Studies onShakespeare have never stopped, and they developed with the development of literarytheories. Ecocriticism emerged and developed with the modern ecological crisis in the naturalworld, which then made people ponder deeply and try to find causes or solutions in theliterary works. Not only applied in the modern environment, it also can be used in discussingthe past matters of old time. Eco-problem is not an emergence in a burst. It is an outbreakfrom nature for the increasingly excessive demand and conquering of human, and a furiousrevenge of nature in people’s long-term accumulated plunders. The ecological theories can beused in the exploration of the origins of the eco-problems from the classics, and in thinkingthe reason and process of human’s gradual imbalance of mentality in conquest of the nature.In that case, people can attempt to seek a better way of revolving ecological andenvironmental problems under the direction of ecological theories, and promote therelationship between human and nature forward to the harmonious world.The thesis is divided into three chapters with two or three parts in each.Chapter One is in relevance to the harmonious hope in the wide range of universe fromthe traditional cosmology which regarded the cosmos as two concepts–microcosms andmacrocosms. The harmony of macrocosms which covers the whole natural world includingthe heavenly bodies in the sky is the most ideal condition of the world; under the influence ofthe thought of microcosmic-macrocosmic parallel, the accordance between human thoughtand body, and the good order inside human body are also of great importance. The harmonyof microcosms and macrocosms creates together the peaceful and united environment for thedevelopment of the world.Chapter Two explains the inseparable relationship between man and the nature by aseries of images of natural world. Firstly from mankind’s standpoint displays that human raceas part of nature, has to follow the rules of nature. Additionally, by means of dehumanization of people, human being’s status in nature and the Great Chain of Being is clearly seen;secondly, standing in the nature’s perspective, through the reflection of nature’s power intime’s force, and the effects of nature on human, the importance of the harmoniousrelationship between human and nature is obvious.Chapter Three elaborates the significance of the peace in the interpersonal relationship.Human society as part of the ecological system plays an important role in the development ofthe whole system. Shakespeare expressed his universal love for the entire human world andindiscriminate treatment to kinds of races of people in the world by his passionate friends’love with his young friend and his fever-like love for the “dark lady”. His love for friend andlover showed Shakespeare’s dream of building a friendly and harmonious human society.