The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Environment

Louise Westling (ed.). (2013). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

‘For as long as humans have been recording images of the world around them, they have been wondering about its meaning and their own status’ (p. 1). This is the opening sentence of this volume, and it aptly introduces a key focus throughout: tracking/highlighting the environmental perspective throughout literary history. The texts range from some of the earliest surviving literature (e.g., the epic of Gilgamesh and Theocritus’ Idylls) right through to late 20^th century fiction. The essays divide into four sections. ‘Foundations’ deals largely with premodern and early-modern texts that predate but nonetheless inform contemporary ecocritical approaches. ‘Theories’ focusses on the central concerns of ecocriticism, including the problematic divides of nature/culture and human/nonhuman. ‘Interdisciplinary Engagements’ turns to how ecocriticism relates to other forms of literary criticism and academic inquiry (including animal studies, botany, and biosemiotics). Finally, ‘Major Directions’ looks towards the current environmental crisis and how ecocriticism can be used to develop environmental ethics and justice and to provide ideas of how to tackle climate change. Overall, this volume provides readers with an understanding both of what ecocritical studies have already achieved and where ecocriticism is headed in the future.