1) CUET-ready definition
Eco-criticism is an approach that studies literature in relation to:
- environment and ecology,
- representations of nature and nonhuman life,
- environmental ethics,
- and the cultural narratives that shape human–nature relations.
It asks how texts:
- imagine land, animals, climate, and resources,
- construct “nature” versus “culture,”
- and respond to ecological crisis.
2) Key concepts (high-yield)
A) Nature as constructed, not neutral
Eco-criticism argues:
- “nature” in texts is represented through cultural frames (pastoral, wilderness, sublime).
B) Anthropocentrism vs ecocentrism
- anthropocentrism: human-centred worldview.
- ecocentrism: ecosystem-centred ethics.
C) Place and dwelling
Literature often shapes “sense of place”:
- local ecologies, belonging, displacement.