Illustrate how Shakespeare's Macbeth and John Clare's poetry use Essay

Illustrate how Shakespeare's Macbeth and John Clare's poetry use animals to present a message about human affairs such as politi - Essay Example It encompasses all religions, poetries, arts, histories, dramas, fictions and non-fictions. It enhances and reshapes the readers’ perception of life by providing them a wider spectrum through imaginary or factual narrations. It represents man’s relationship to man using images and symbols. As C. S. Lewis debates that â€Å"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become"1. Thus, it is not a mere picture of reality rather it is a process of value addition in it; and represents prevailing cultures and norms of a particular society pointing out its various aspects. Literature can be regarded as a wise teacher. It presents examples, illustrations, and incidents in front of the readers to correlate their own lives and draw intellectual conclusions from them. Symbols and images are the most important tools of literature. Image represents reality whereas symbols stand for comparable aspects. The writers use them to create sharp and vivid images in the minds of the readers so that they may see their own worth in comparison to the characters and factors presented. Other than creating sharp fantasies, images serve to offer a deep penetration into the emotions and feelings of the characters in a particular situation. Thus, whenever a character in Ibsen’s plays feel emotional turmoil, he goes straight to the stove or fire. Fielding plays with the images of clothing and nakedness in ‘Joseph Andrews’ to use them as the symbols of human intentions,2 and status; Shakespeare uses them to explain seven stages of human life3 and Tennyson uses them to present facts in disguise. Animals have been a constant, continuous and effective source of symbols and images in English literature. Writers have used animals to represent and symbolise certain features of human nature. For exampl e, Shakespeare refers to snail to explain the pace of a school going child4; Jonathan Swift offered horse-like yahoos5; Alfred Tennyson has used the image of an eagle in his poem ‘The Eagle’ to explain the vigilance and crookedness with which authoritative ruler takes care of his estate6; Wordsworth has referred to Nightingale and cuckoo bird in ‘Solitary Reaper’ to explain the sweetness and thrill of maiden’s song and voice; Sylvia Plath has used bees7; Adrienne Rich referred to Tigers8, etc. For ages, this sort of imagery had been taken as aesthetics of writers. It is only now that cultural criticism is made upon this particular feature to highlight its social, political and religious aspects. This innovative field of critical study is called, ‘Ecocriticism’. Ecocriticism Ecocriticism challenges the study of literature’s relationship to the world. It is a key to the new awareness of life sciences. The main argument in natural sc iences states that the natural environment is an exclusive contributor to the human life and social values. Cultural change can be induced by the adaptation to the environment. It