Ecocritical Analysis of Ecological Presence, Anthropocentrism, and Interconnectedness in Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Oceanic

Abstract

The focus of this research study is to examine the bond between man and nature, reflected in the poetry of contemporary American poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil. The nature poetry of the poet strengthens man’s relation with nature and fosters ecological awareness. Her poetry has been explored earlier from different perspectives, but little work has been carried out from an ecocritical perspective. This research seeks to examine selected poems from her collection Oceanic(2018) using textual and thematic analysis of three poems (’Invitation’, ’Sea Church’, and ’Love in the Time of Swine Flu’) in order to highlight her concept of nature alongside the artistic and imaginative qualities of her poetry. The study analyzes Nezhukumatathil’s ecological consciousness through three main aspects: ecological presence and care, challenge to anthropocentrism, and symbiotic interconnectedness. It further examines the imagery and literary style in the selected poems to show how natural imagery of sea, salt, grapefruit, and marine creatures reinforces the themes, using ecocritical notions of ecological awareness, interrelatedness, and environmental responsibility. This study addresses a gap in ecocritical scholarship and aims to promote environmental sensibility and awareness.