An Ecocritical Reading of a Hero: To Be Human or Not in Beowulf

Abstract

In contemporary studies and literary works, ecocriticism is generally associated with present problems and conditions related to the interconnection between humans and nature. Likewise, the Middle Ages offer numerous fields for ecocriticism, such as the definition and treatment of animals, climatic disasters like the Little Ice Age, and reflections of these in literary works of the time, even beginning with the biblical narration of the Creation. Accordingly, this article aims to shed light on the relationship between humans and nonhumans in the Middle Ages through the analysis of Beowulf by foregrounding the differences between humans and nonhumans within the framework of medieval ecocriticism, which has become the centre of academic medieval studies in recent years. In Beowulf, the human and nonhuman relationship is interwoven within an ecocritical approach. However, as seen through a close reading of the text, an ecocritical reading of Beowulf is possible not due to an inherent ecocritical awareness of nature within the epic, but because humans, nonhumans, and nature cannot be evaluated independently of each other, despite the sharp line drawn between the human and the nonhuman.

Keywords

• Ecocriticism
• Medieval ecocriticism
• Beowulf
• Human
• Nonhuman

Bir Kahramanın Ekoeleştirel Okuması: Beowulf'ta İnsan Olmak veya Olmamak

Abstract

Çağdaş çalışmalarda ve edebî eserlerde ekoeleştiri insan ve doğa arasındaki etkileşimle ilgili sorunlarla ve konularla ilişkilendirilmektedir. Benzer şekilde, Orta Çağ, ekoeleştiri çerçevesinde, hatta İncil'deki Yaratılış anlatısından başlayarak, hayvanların tanımı ve muamelesi, Küçük Buz Çağı gibi iklim felaketleri ve bunların dönemin edebî eserlerindeki yansımaları gibi çok sayıda çalışma alanı sunmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, bu makale, son yıllarda döneme ilişkin akademik çalışmaların merkezine yerleşen Orta Çağ ekoeleştirisi çerçevesinde Beowulf destanı üzerinden insan ve insandışı varlıklar arasındaki farklılıkları ön plana çıkararak, Orta Çağ’da insan ve insandışı varlıklar arasındaki ilişkiye ışık tutmayı hedeflemektedir. Beowulf adlı eserde insan ve insandışının ilişkisi ekoeleştirel yaklaşımla iç içe geçmiştir. Ancak, Beowulf’un ekoeleştirel okuması, metnin yakın okumasında da görüleceği üzere, destanın içinde doğaya ilişkin doğal bir ekoeleştirel farkındalık bulunmasından kaynaklanmaz. Bilakis, bu okuma, insan ve insandışı varlıklar arasında çizilen keskin çizgiye rağmen, insan, insandışı varlıklar ve doğanın birbirinden bağımsız olarak değerlendirilememesi gerçeğinden ortaya çıkmaktadır.

Keywords

• Ekoeleştiri
• Orta Çağ ekoeleştirisi
• Beowulf
• İnsan
• İnsandışı

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