Papers by Dr Elizabeth Black
Youtube video, 2020
A recording of my talk for the Digital Edward Thomas Festival hosted by Petersfield Museum
https... more A recording of my talk for the Digital Edward Thomas Festival hosted by Petersfield Museum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHc3xd_IUyM
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper, from the 2015 ASLE-UKI conference at Cambridge University, argues for the importance ... more This paper, from the 2015 ASLE-UKI conference at Cambridge University, argues for the importance of Edit Sitwell's use of modernist experimentation to create new forms of nature poetry capable of challenging the disenchantment of scientific modernity.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The dramatic monologue would not immediately appear to be a form which is compatible with the int... more The dramatic monologue would not immediately appear to be a form which is compatible with the interests of ecocriticism. Its focus on human actions, often occurring within created settings, seems at odds with a theory which promotes nature and the environment. However, in this paper I hope to present an ecocritical reading of ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ which emphasises the importance of the speaker’s environment to the construction of his character. In reading the poem from a green perspective I intend to show how Eliot adapted the form to show the psychological and spiritual consequences of modern man’s disconnection from nature and the non-human world.
Modernism is often thought to mark the demise of the dramatic monologue, but rather than diluting the form I will argue that Eliot modernises it and increases its relevance to readers by placing his speaker within a recognisable urban environment. Prufrock’s failures to fulfil the expectation of dramatic action expected by the form then become the integral to the revelation of his character and inability to act.
In adapting the dramatic monologue to address the increasing distance between modern man and the natural world, Eliot places his speaker within the stifling restraints of upper middle class society. The result is a speaker who is the archetypal urban man: nervous, sensitive, painfully self aware, and longing to connect with something beyond the human world. His failure to do so forces the re-examination of ideas of progress and raises questions about the psychological impact of modernity.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Ecocriticism has tended to focus primarily on texts which either have rural settings or have natu... more Ecocriticism has tended to focus primarily on texts which either have rural settings or have nature as their central subject matter. However, as most universities in the UK are located in cities it is important not to overlook urban environments and urban-centred texts in discussions about environmental sustainability. If texts with urban settings are excluded from consideration as environmental literature in our teaching we risk alienating students from urban backgrounds, as well limiting our understanding of the range and diversity of natural habitats in Britain.
A modernist text such as The Waste Land provides a perfect example of the vibrant multiplicity of urban places and the complex interaction of personal, historical and cultural meaning in shaping our comprehension of the modern city. The Waste Land also raises discussion over the spiritual and psychological impact of city living by depicting a soulless society which has become disconnected from the processes and cycles of the nature and lives only for human concerns.
Teaching urban texts from a green perspective can extend the scope of ecocriticism, provide fresh insights into well known texts and increase students’ awareness of the presence and processes of nature within their immediate environment. This can then extend into a wider discussion of how the individual can increase their awareness of nature and wild places in the city, and how urban lifestyles can be made compatible with environmental sustainability.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This short article was published in e-magazine for A level students. It summarises the importance... more This short article was published in e-magazine for A level students. It summarises the importance of nature not only in Edward Thomas's poetry but for his psychological well being. The psychological aspect of his encounters with nature is cited as the strongest distinguishing factor between his nature writing and that of Georgian poets.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Drafts by Dr Elizabeth Black
Unpublished draft paper, 2020
A short exploratory essay considering the potential insights of approaching the poetry of Edward ... more A short exploratory essay considering the potential insights of approaching the poetry of Edward Thomas through the lens of Folk Horror studies, the EcoGothic and the eerie.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
A draft of the paper I presented at the Landline conference at Leeds University in March 2019. Th... more A draft of the paper I presented at the Landline conference at Leeds University in March 2019. The paper argues for the continuing relevance of Edward Thomas to contemporary nature writing, whilst also recognising barriers to replicating his engagement with the British countryside.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This article argues for recognition of T. S. Eliot as an important nature poet whose reflections ... more This article argues for recognition of T. S. Eliot as an important nature poet whose reflections on human/nature relations remain relevant to our current understanding of the environmental crisis. Challenging conventional associations of nature writing with rural places, the article asserts the importance of urban-centred poetry in representing modern relationships with nature and voicing concern against the negative environmental impact of modernity. Focusing predominantly on The Waste Land the article explores the material reality of the poem's landscapes, the under-examined centrality of place in Eliot's work and the idea of the poem as a prescient warning of climate change.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
When we think of First World War poetry, it usually elicits associations with graphic images of t... more When we think of First World War poetry, it usually elicits associations with graphic images of trench warfare and a general tone of anger against those who sent a generation to face the horrors of modern, technological combat and pity for the young men who lost their lives because of it. Pity, compassion, loss and despair are also at the centre of Edward Thomas's war poetry, which similarly mourns the absence of a generation and acknowledges a painful break between the pre and postwar world. However, the most striking difference between Thomas's war poetry and that of poets such as Sassoon and Owen is that Thomas rarely mentions the hostilities or his experiences on the front line directly. Instead he focuses on the environmental impact of the war on the British countryside and its far reaching consequences for rural communities. This lack of explicit comment on a conflict in which Thomas became actively involved would seem to suggest an act of artistic retreat from the horrors of war in favour of the familiar comforts of the countryside. However, in this paper I will argue that this focus on the British countryside and the environmental consequences of war distinguishes Edward Thomas as a poet whose alternative, ecocentric perspective resulted in the creation of a new form of war poetry that foregrounds the complex relationship between humans and nature and makes connections between the impact of violence abroad and its individual, social and environmental consequences at home. PPT: Importance of Edward Thomas's Ecocentric War Poetry As I hope to demonstrate in this paper, focussing on the ecocentric aspect of Edward Thomas's war poetry achieves several things:
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Books by Dr Elizabeth Black
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Conference Presentations by Dr Elizabeth Black
Edward Thomas and the Haunted Countryside The idea for the subject of this talk struck me when I ... more Edward Thomas and the Haunted Countryside The idea for the subject of this talk struck me when I noticed how many writers spoke about Thomas in terms of how his life and work had haunted them. Thinking about this subject further, I came to observe three distinct ways in which the theme of haunting relates to Edward Thomas and these three perspectives form the structure of my talk today. Firstly, I will discuss Edward Thomas as a haunted man, a person who in his own words went 'about the world with a worried heart and a notebook'. Secondly, I will consider how he depicted the British countryside as a haunted place, a landscape shaped by its past and by the actions of those now long departed. Finally I will consider Edward Thomas's own afterlife with reference to his continuing influence on contemporary literature, but most significantly in relation to the haunting prescience of his insights into the impact of human actions upon the earth.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Dr Elizabeth Black
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHc3xd_IUyM
Modernism is often thought to mark the demise of the dramatic monologue, but rather than diluting the form I will argue that Eliot modernises it and increases its relevance to readers by placing his speaker within a recognisable urban environment. Prufrock’s failures to fulfil the expectation of dramatic action expected by the form then become the integral to the revelation of his character and inability to act.
In adapting the dramatic monologue to address the increasing distance between modern man and the natural world, Eliot places his speaker within the stifling restraints of upper middle class society. The result is a speaker who is the archetypal urban man: nervous, sensitive, painfully self aware, and longing to connect with something beyond the human world. His failure to do so forces the re-examination of ideas of progress and raises questions about the psychological impact of modernity.
A modernist text such as The Waste Land provides a perfect example of the vibrant multiplicity of urban places and the complex interaction of personal, historical and cultural meaning in shaping our comprehension of the modern city. The Waste Land also raises discussion over the spiritual and psychological impact of city living by depicting a soulless society which has become disconnected from the processes and cycles of the nature and lives only for human concerns.
Teaching urban texts from a green perspective can extend the scope of ecocriticism, provide fresh insights into well known texts and increase students’ awareness of the presence and processes of nature within their immediate environment. This can then extend into a wider discussion of how the individual can increase their awareness of nature and wild places in the city, and how urban lifestyles can be made compatible with environmental sustainability.
Drafts by Dr Elizabeth Black
Books by Dr Elizabeth Black
Conference Presentations by Dr Elizabeth Black
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHc3xd_IUyM
Modernism is often thought to mark the demise of the dramatic monologue, but rather than diluting the form I will argue that Eliot modernises it and increases its relevance to readers by placing his speaker within a recognisable urban environment. Prufrock’s failures to fulfil the expectation of dramatic action expected by the form then become the integral to the revelation of his character and inability to act.
In adapting the dramatic monologue to address the increasing distance between modern man and the natural world, Eliot places his speaker within the stifling restraints of upper middle class society. The result is a speaker who is the archetypal urban man: nervous, sensitive, painfully self aware, and longing to connect with something beyond the human world. His failure to do so forces the re-examination of ideas of progress and raises questions about the psychological impact of modernity.
A modernist text such as The Waste Land provides a perfect example of the vibrant multiplicity of urban places and the complex interaction of personal, historical and cultural meaning in shaping our comprehension of the modern city. The Waste Land also raises discussion over the spiritual and psychological impact of city living by depicting a soulless society which has become disconnected from the processes and cycles of the nature and lives only for human concerns.
Teaching urban texts from a green perspective can extend the scope of ecocriticism, provide fresh insights into well known texts and increase students’ awareness of the presence and processes of nature within their immediate environment. This can then extend into a wider discussion of how the individual can increase their awareness of nature and wild places in the city, and how urban lifestyles can be made compatible with environmental sustainability.