VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES BÙI THỊ THU THỦY NEW POETRY (1932 -1945) FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ECOCRITICISM Major: Literary Theory Code: 9.22.01.20 ABSTRACT OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS IN LITERARY THEORY HÀ NỘI, 2020 The work was completed at: Graduate Academay of Social Sciences Vietnam Academay of Social Sciences SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISORS: Assoc Prof Lưu Khánh Thơ Dr Phạm Phương Chi Reviewer 1: Assoc Prof Do Lai Thuy Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Doan Duc Phuong Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Mai Thi Huong The thesis will be defended in front or the Academy-level Thesis Commitee, at: Graduate Academay of Social Sciences, 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Ha Noi at 2020 The thesis could be found at: - National Library - Academay Library INTRODUCTION The urgency of the subject From the end of the 20th century to the present, the risks of environmental degradation have become serious This raises questions regarding the survival of mankind And this is why in the economic field, there is the concept of sustainable development that advocates economic development while preserves the ecological environment for future generations The realm of social sciences and humanities has also emerged the concept of ecocriticism In essence, it is the study of the relationship between man and nature It is considered as a new research approach that is interdisciplinary and increasingly influential Ecocriticism, also known as “green research”, appeared in Western Europe and has been spreading worldwide Through many stages of development, ecocriticism shows its potential and has been approaching, introducing, applying, and studying by Vietnamese literary researchers Currently, studies based on ecocriticism chiefly aims at contemporary literary compositions that still contain limitations They especially focus on the prose instead of poetry genre For this, we want to shed light on theories of ecocriticism to explore an important entity of Vietnamese literature in the twentieth century, Thơ Mới (New Poetry) Research Purposes and Objectives 2.1 Purposes of the research This research examines whether ecocriticism, a literary approach that originates from the West, have similarities or differences when viewed in relation to Vietnamese literature, especially with New Poetry The research would like to discover New Poetry from a new perspective, i.e the connection of this school of poetry with biological, environmental, and natural issues Since then, the thesis affirms core values and multiple dimensions of New Poetry New Poetry is valuable even when explored through the approaches that appear much later than New Poetry’s birth and development Given such interpretations of ecocriticism, we would like to affirm that ecocriticism is only a new approach to New Poetry, like other approaches used to approach this part of poetry.Our dissertation is not to identify New Poetry as an ecological whole Because the focus of New Poetry is the individual ego and human loneliness.But studying this literary movementthrough the lenses of ecocriticism, we want to discover more meanings and values of New Poetry Therefore, the theory of ecocriticism will contribute to illuminating various aspects of ecological literary trends in New Poetry Accordingly, New Poetry is envisioned as a case study to prove the usefulness of ecocriticism in studying the realities of Vietnamese literature 2.2 The Objectivesof the research - Give an overview of the research situation concerning eco-critical theories in the world and in Vietnam - Analyze the birth and development of ecocriticism in the world, thereby giving particular judgments about the development and connotation of ecocriticism - Study the relationship between nature and people in New Poetry - Study languages and symbols in New Poetry Aims and scope of the research 3.1 Aims of the research - The research targets include direct and indirect works that show the relationship between nature and man in New Poetry - Apply the knowledge of ecocriticism to explain the relationship between nature and man in New Poetry, thereby confirmingthe contributions of New Poetry fully and comprehensively 3.2 Scope of the research Our dissertation mainly surveys the collection entitled New Poetry from 1932 to 1945 Authors and Works, Lại Nguyên Ân (compiled), 1999, Writers Association Publishers, Hanoi - (Volume and - 1401 pages) In addition to examining the discourses of ecocriticism in New Poetry, we examine the relationship between nature and humans in literature before and after the New Poetry’s birth to highlight and differentiate the differences of the above-mentioned relation inNew Poetry Theoretical framework and research methods Systematic method; Statistical methods; Interdisciplinary method; Method of cultural and poetic approach; Comparative method New scientific contributions of the research This is the first comprehensive and systematic research on New Poetry which appliesthe theories of ecocriticism The dissertation summarizes, analyses, and assesses detailedly and specifically researcheson ecocriticism in the world and in Vietnam, showing the standpoint and development trend of ecocriticism in Vietnam in present The dissertation is not to answer whether New Poetry is ecocriticalliterature or not but mainly points to the multifaceted values and meanings of New Poetry through the lensesof eco-critical theory Using the theories of ecocriticism, the dissertation explores, for the first-time, basic aspects of the relationships between humans and nature in New Poetry: Nature as an object and as a subject At the same time, the dissertation discovers the ecological language system and its fundamental symbols in New Poetry: the symbol of the garden, the symbol of the forest Theoretical and practical significances of the dissertation Theoretical significance: The dissertation focuses on answering which contributions of New Poetry have for ecocriticism, that is, when applied in the case study of the natural poetry in New Poetry, which may need to be added for ecocriticism; how New Poetry could comment and discuss further for ecocriticism Using thetheory, appeared in a different social and historical context compared to Vietnam, for the Vietnamese poetry, which was also born in a specific socio-historical context, certainly has mismatches and inappropriateness The study of New Poetry from the ecocriticism perspective suggests that this inadequacy might be a theoretical contribution of the dissertation; New Poetry, therefore, has more theoretically values Practical significance: The dissertation is a reference for those who are interested in ecocriticism and willing to discover more values of New Poetry (1932-1945) The structure of the dissertation In addition to the Introduction, Conclusions, References, and Appendices, the main content of the dissertation consists of chapters as follows: Chapter 1: Overview of the research Chapter 2: Ecocriticism as a literary approach Chapter 3: Ecological aspects of the relationship between nature and humans in New Poetry Chapter 4: Ecological languages and symbols in New Poetry Chapter OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH 1.1 Research of ecocriticism abroad 1.1.1 Ecocriticism in the West 1.1.1.1 The early period In the early period, research on literature and the environment began to get noticed and has been increasing in the world But they mostly focused on studies in the UK and the U.S., especially in the western part of the U.S Many works focus on the wildness and the epiphany of the individual, pointing out the harmony and balance of nature and between man and nature - things that are actually created by human culture and language rather thannature itself Therefore, ecological critics call this stage as the commendation of ecocriticism 1.1.1.2 The period of development Originating in the United Kingdom and the United States, ecocriticism has expanded globally Formed since the 1970s and thrived from 1990 to 2007, ecocriticism, which has been on its stage of development by 2008, has many research directions, more broadening to gender, race, and class issues as well as emphasizingintercultural perspectives This proves the promise of ecocriticism as a developing and global research direction 1.1.2 Ecocriticism of non-Western nations The expansion of ecological scriptures, includingall the world’s literature with the contribution of global critics, is considered as the most recent milestone in the practicing of ecocriticism to explore environmental issues and aim at environmental criticism in literary traditions in Asia, especially Japanese, Korean, or pieces of literature written in Chinese This meansthere are branches of ecocriticism and these branches have their own characteristics for each culture, each literature is also the ecocriticism of its culture and literature 1.2 Research on ecocriticism in Vietnam 1.2.1 Trees, animals and environmental crises in literary research in Vietnam The writer will examine documents about Vietnamese ecocriticism and translations, syntheses, introductions, and writingson theories of ecocriticism to determine the position of ecocriticism in literary research on eco-criticism in particular and in Vietnamese literary research in general The total number of Vietnamese literature researches on ecocriticism from a theoretical perspective is 27 articles (Table attached) and ecocriticism surveyed includes 77 documents (Table attached) Through surveying the two tables, the writer realizes that the approach on literature in the relation to Vietnamese environment is compatible with the content of ecocriticism in the first stage, which is interested in natural landscapes, the contrast between culture (urban, modernization) and nature (countryside, wilderness) This is manifested and also caused by the reception of ecocriticism in Vietnam (translations, syntheses) which aims at the natural content of classical ecocriticism Specifically, Table shows that ecocriticism has been introduced (translations, syntheses), analyses (theoretical articles) in Vietnam, though not early but rather abundantly and updated Through these translations and syntheses, it can be seen that what is accepted of ecocriticism in Vietnam is primarily the relationship between man and nature Accordingly, the issues regarding the harmony of nature are emphasized and most concerned It was not until the book published by the Institute of Literature that the recent developments of ecocriticism - its focus on political, social, and historical issues - were introduced Therefore, the interaction between the environment and the issues of class, feminism, and ethnicity is of theoretical interest And this promises a trend of applying and developing new ecocriticism in Vietnam Further analysis into Table shows that the works that take folk literature, medieval literature, and modern literature as research targets mainly approach ecocriticism in its first wave These are discoveries of harmony and respect between man and nature It can be said that, through the lens of ecocriticism, Vietnamese scholars have discovered the position of nature as the subject in relation to humans in Vietnamese literature This is a new direction in criticizing and studying literature on the subject matter that is often seen as a linguistic structure, which explores the human world with all its complexities and intricacies And it can be clearly seen that Vietnamese scholars discover Vietnamese literature from the perspective of ecocriticism in the first wave, the vision which is profoundly rooted in deep ecology and associated with the protection and conservation of nature The authors appreciate the stationary stability of nature and its dialectical relationship with humans; they recognize and appreciate the universal concept of nature and focus on the texts which were written explicitly about nature and plants 1.2.2 Literature and environmental justice in research on ecocriticism in Vietnam This part of the dissertation discusses the presence of ecocriticism in Vietnamese literature as the representation of ecocriticism in the second wave In the second wave, ecocriticism characterizes byits distance from Eurocentrism, aiming at discovering texts from the world outside Europe; ecocriticism became a non-Western literary approach of Western and nonWestern scholars Ecocriticism in the second wave is featured by its orientation towards social, political and historical issues Specifically, in Vietnam, before and after the International Conference on Ecocriticism: Local and Global Voices organized by the Institute of Literature (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) (December 2017), a series of works on ecocriticism in Vietnam identify humans concerns in relation to the ecological environment: i.e the issues of the urban environment and suburban areas in literary texts of all genres rather than only literature written about nature and the wildness Vietnamese scholars no longer recognize humans and nature as opposites but think that the former is a part of the lattercycle, therefore, all changes in human life will affect nature Implying in the critical and analytical arguments about the environment of Vietnamese scholars is seemly a great concern for protecting the natural environment against the destruction of nature due to the impact of the civilization process So, although ecocriticism in Vietnam reflects the development of worldly ecocriticism through different stages (from the tendencyof studying documents about nature to the consideration of specific political and social issues such as war, industrialization and modernization), it has its own characteristics in its moving to the traditional view of human-natural unity This makes the peculiarity of ecocriticism in Vietnam in relation to ecocriticism in several other countries in the region This shows that ecocriticism is highly likely to be further developed in Vietnamese literary research The need for studies on ecocriticism in Vietnam is further emphasized by public awareness of particular environmental changes related to air pollution, food hygiene, and the destruction of aquatic and silvicultural systems Sub conclusion This chapter of the dissertation examines and analyzes the theories of ecocriticism, which has been received and applied in the study of literature in general and Vietnamese New Poetry in particular The dissertation places the appearance and development of Vietnamese ecocriticism in the flow of worldly ecocriticism in both theoretical and applied aspects In other words, the dissertation does not list and summarize works on ecocriticism in Vietnam separately and rampantly but analyzes and surveys them in a certain direction and method In this way, the writer expects that the overview of ecocriticism in Vietnam will be a contribution to the theoretical conclusions of the ecological and environmental literary approach, i.e ecocriticism Chapter ECOCRITICISM AS A LITERARY APPROACH 2.1 Ecocriticism takes an earth-centred approach to literary research 2.1.1 The philosophical premise of ecocriticism Take nature as the central reference system in the study of literary works The most evident for this is when the theorists of ecocriticism point to the philosophical premises of the literary approach: Ecological consciousness; Ecological philosophy; Deep ecology; Theland ethic; 2.2.3.1 The early emergence of the third wave of ecocriticism Theorists of ecocriticism have mentioned the “third wave” of ecocriticism But what is described the third wave of ecocriticism is often seen as being tested and predicted; Nevertheless, theorists of ecocriticism theorize that this is an approach that contributes not only to the social sciences and humanities but also to a larger dialogue about the environmental crisis that people are facing 2.2.3.2 The globality, the extinction, the animal and the interdisciplinarity The third wave of ecocriticism has its own characteristics, moving from the characteristics of ecocriticism in the previous two periods First of all, regarding the development of the political aspects of ecocriticism, ecological theorists and practitioners tend to move towards combining postcolonial criticism with ecocriticism In particular, firstly, ecocriticism tends to be inextricably linked with the region and the community, promoting the alliance with the local place and the ecological originality Second, ecocriticism of the third wave is interdisciplinary Ecological critics will work with a broader spectrum of historical data and documents than before Thirdly, ecocriticism is increasingly paying special attention to animal expression in human re-cognition 2.3 Identify literary approach from an eco-critical perspective The dissertation analyzes the definitions of Glotfelty, Richard Kerridge, Scott Slovic, William Howarth about ecocriticism From these generalizations, ecocriticism can be envisioned consisting of two basic contents: Firstly, it is the analysis of representation and content of ecology, the relationship between man and nature, ethical lessons related to ecology, the process of ecological awareness in literary works Secondly, which impacts the above analysis and representation may have on the readers’ 11 formation of ecological and environmental awareness and on the realities of nature and the environment itself Sub-conclusion This chapter of the dissertation defines the specific content about the eco-critical approach of the research In other words, the chapter content answers the question of howNew Poetry is received by using the ecocritical approach These analyses of the dissertation propose an understanding of ecocriticism as an approach to literature in general in relation to environmental and ecological issues Given such interpretations of ecocriticism, we would like to affirm that ecocriticism is only a new approach to New Poetry Chapter ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE RELATION BETWEEN NATURE AND HUMANSIN NEW POETRY 3.1 Nature as an object 3.1.1 Nature as a living being exists outside of humans If in medieval literature, human and nature responded and intertwined, the two is always separated in literature in the Romantic Period and nature is automatically regarded as an object This can confirm the external position and the respectful, uncontrollable state of the lyrical subject in New Poetry From the perspective of ecocriticism, it can be seen that New Poetry expresses a state of respect for nature, a view of nature as a whole, a world of its own This is a unique characteristic of New Poetry written about nature from the perspective of ecocriticism The appreciation for nature, its role and beauty, is emphasized by ecological critics on the basis that nature embraces people as a part of it and that nature enhances the spiritual life and human life in general Such emphasis on the lyrical subject’s respect to nature in New Poetry is one of 12 the popular approaches of ecocriticism, i.e the approach based on “aesthetic construction” The correlation of the relationship between man and nature in New Poetry with its view of “deep ecology” also shows the influence of the Eastern philosophical thought, especially the view of Taoism, on this relationship Western environmental philosophers themselves are also influenced by Taoism, a way of living achieved by observing the flow of natural events such as water, dew, fire, etc Taoists emphasize the principle of non-self to be in harmony with nature The concept of living, which is in tune with the religion of nature, exalts the ecological and evolutionary principle that man is a part of nature and must shape his way of living in accordance with the processes and cycles of nature 3.1.2 Nature as a reflection of people’s ecological insecurities Poetry, especially romantic New Poetry, is basically exploited in the aspect of reflecting, evoking and encouraging the harmonious relationship between man and nature; nature, hence, is a sustainable place, a source, a fulcrum which is opposite to society, urban, industry, science, the material embodiment of the unstableness, busyness and ambitiousness The poetry section of natural disasters and of relating social issues has not received much attention, especially from the eco-critical perspective, and has not yet explored in studies on New Poetry New Poetry first expresses people’s sense of natural phenomena which are unfavourable to humans In other words, the lyrical subject in New Poetry acknowledges the natural phenomena that make the locals displeased in the tropical monsoon region; human physiological responses to the typical climate and weather in tropical regions and rural areas At a higher level, nature in New Poetry has become a force to threaten human life; along with the socio-cultural forces, nature participates in destroying 13 people Remarkably, the tendency of this relationship is mainly omens and scourges This shows people’s insecurity in the universe But New Poetry about natural disasters, viewed from the ecological perspective, not only reflects the disillusionment of people about themselves to nature and the disillusionment about nature as a peaceful returning place and a constant place New Poetry about natural disasters, with the poetic meanings developed on the events of natural disasters, reflects and joins the discourse on environmental and social justice It can be said that New Poetry seems to be in tune with the issues related to environmental and social justice, which are being exploited and developed by the critics of the second wave to approach literature 3.2 Nature as a subject 3.2.1 Nature as the pull and push forces of an urban place In New Poetry, the city has become the main topic And from the point of view of ecocriticism, the urban in New Poetry is the object of criticism, the refusal in which the poets turn to nature For the poets of New Poetry, urban is a dream of vanity But then urban is just a fleeting dream for the poets The more they hope, the more they are disappointed Because, apart from its luxury and development, the city has full ofscrambling, cheating, lies The whole of chaos, uncleanness, and dirtinessexists in urban life This is the grey area in the imagination of the urban that used to be shimmering, sumptuous, flashyforcontemporary poets Clearly, from an eco-critical point of view, it can be seen that the urban in New Poetry is “a nightmare of the urban” Disruption, disappointment, and frustration with the city are common feelings of the New Poetry’s poets This urban tragedy is compatible with the eagerness of the poets in nurturing their urban dreams in the early days The more eager theyare, the more painful and lost they feel And the peaceful place for the 14 New Poetry’s poets, which corresponds with the view of ecological critics in the first wave, is the countryside 3.2.2 Nature as the returning place for people in the modern world The relationship between people and nature in New Poetry as the writings about nature in general and ruralness in particular Accordingly, nature is the past and the ideal place for people to return to take refuge, to escape from the modernity with typical embodiments such as the city, technology, worries of making a living and chaos Poetry about the countryside is also an expression of the relationship between nature and people in modern times in New Poetry The nature of the countryside in New Poetry, like that of poetry about the country in general, offers a poetic image of order, sustainability and values of consensus, harmony - that is a stable life The lyrical characters in New Poetry, both directly and indirectly, reveal the tendency towards rural nature to live simply, to escape from the stresses of civilization in the city Simplicity and peace are the things that repeat in poems about the picture of the countryside Thus, the nature in New Poetry is the returning place for people in modern times, where people could return to the past, the peace and the awakening of the mind and of the sense in the body All of this shows people’s observation and perception of their primary role in the efforts to free themselves from the consequences of modern life Sub-conclusion Ecocriticism considered the position of nature as the center or periphery in relation to the spiritual and physical world of people (lyrical characters, storytellers, characters) And ecocriticism is mainly practiced in the literature about nature From the approach of ecocriticism, this chapter explores aspects of the relationship between man and nature Chapter 15 ECOLOGICAL LANGUAGES AND SYMBOLS IN NEW POETRY 4.1 Ecological language in New Poetry 4.1.1 The issue of ecological language in poetry The discourse of ecocriticism and poetry about the environment and nature are considered by many researchers to be interoperable and interdependent Both are interested in the idea An eco-critical approach to New Poetry can help to see the similarities or dialogues - through images and languages - of New Poetry to contemporary environmental issues and with its eco-critical discourse as the research theory of literature and humanities in present 4.1.2 The system of ecological language in New Poetry 4.1.2.1 New Poetry as ecological palettes Adjectives of colour, particularly light and soft colours, create a prominent subject in the language of poems about nature in New Poetry In other words, words in New Poetry mostly focus on the bright shades of nature and the ecological world The most common adjectives are green, yellow, pink and white From the classical ecological approach, the dense appearance of adjectives indicating the bright colours, especially the greencolour in New Poetry, shows the people’s respect for nature The adjectives of bright green in New Poetry create an impression of nature as a beautiful “place”, having its own life, separating from the human world Therefore, it is easy to see how ecocriticism considers nature and the ecological world as the centrethrough the appearance of many adjectives that indicate the bright colours of nature in New Poetry Thus, the world of colours in New Poetry appears as a living being, the result of the “sensory perceptions” of lyrical subjects In other words, the world of colours is like a place where a complex interaction of natural and cultural cycles takes place It can be said that the language referringcoloursin New Poetry shows the inseparability, or rather the 16 exchanged and interactive relationship between subject and object, nature and culture in poems about nature and ecology This is in line with the recent theoretical developments in eco-critical theory It is taking nature not as a “place” which is separate from and opposed to people but rather as a process in which the interaction of conceptual processes, the manipulation of cultural codes and the natural process are perceived by the human senses 4.1.2.2 New Poetry as the beginnings of the theory of ecocriticism in Vietnam In New Poetry movement, there are poems that directly discuss the relationship between man and nature corresponding to the idea of this relationship in eco-critical theory In other words, New Poetry is included in it, through the form of poetry, with specific rhyme, rhythms and punctuation, specific philosophies and concepts of ecocriticism With the argumentativeness of ecology, in New Poetry, we can come across poems or expressions that can be the manifesto or motto of ecocriticism or environmental movements It seems that the lyrical authors use these images as just an idiom, a universal concept The process of conceptualization also makes it possible for verses to become declarations of a philosophy of life toward nature Thus, New Poetry, when viewed from the perspective of eco-criticism, is full of the potential to become an ecological discourse, participating in the discourses and ideas on the ecology of humankind today 4.1.2.3 New Poetry as theoretical potentials in verses for ecological trauma Ecological critics have searched in literature for representations that suggest the possible injury of the ecosystem A prominent theme in the poemsof New Poetry about forests in particular and nature, in general, is loss and pain In these poems, the face of nature appears groaning, painful as a result of a rough intervention 17 The argumentativeness of ecological trauma, images of animals, which is personifying as analysed above, raises the question of whether the expression of those natural losses is an embodiment of human domination, that man is not allowing nature to speak its true voice, that man is putting words in nature’s mouth, speaking for nature in his understanding and voice Affirming that a basic content in the relationship between man and nature is seen in ecocriticism This is the relationship between humansand the inhuman natural world that characterized primarily by trauma And so, New Poetry with its personifyingexpressions - the embodiment of imagination - touches on ecological trauma and this is similar to the trauma of people and nations under the exploitation policies of the colonialists 4.2 Ecological symbol in New Poetry 4.2.1 Symbols and the symbol of the “garden” in ecocriticism Poetry readers may sometimes feel they lack the “key” to unlock the “secret meaning” of poems that are full of symbols and signs It is true that there are poems that require readers to have such a key But there are poems proving that there are more things to discuss the symbol than to rely on the correspondence formula1: between symbols and meanings New Poetry has many symbols such as the symbol of loneliness, the symbol of the grief for past, the symbol of traditional culture, the symbol of rivers, the symbol of fields, But according to our observation, the “garden” is a symbol that represents the most ecological characteristic of New Poetry Studying the symbol of garden, we aim at two purposes Firstly, the symbol of “garden” indicates the place and this is the place to relieve human suffering in the urban environment Second, the symbol of the “garden” also shows the ecological discourse of New Poetry which corresponds to the first stage of ecocriticism 4.2.2 The symbol of the garden in New Poetry 18 4.2.2.1 Garden - remembering the native landscapes From an ecological perspective, the garden in New Poetry demonstrates a sense of a place - and this is in accordance with the first wave of ecological theory Considering the symbol of the garden in New Poetry can be considered as a return to nature, away from the prosperous city And from here the garden becomes a symbol of the beauty of the region Surveying the symbol of the garden in New Poetry from an eco-critical perspective is a journey back to nature Through the poems of poets, the beauty of regional identity appears truly, intimate, familiar but equally poetic and fresh It can be seen that the natural image in New Poetry in general and the symbol of the garden in particular still has local and national nuances as well as historical imprints The appearedsceneriesare things that are close, lovely, lively, fresh of the Vietnamese homeland which has no conventions and metaphors We still recognize that New Poetry is considered as a type of romantic literature Apart from the peaceful garden and the pictureof green landscapes, is this true that when we look at the nature of New Poetry from the perspective of ecocriticism is when we are trying to dialogue with reality? Dialoguing with the civilization of urbanization and of the industry that is increasingly encroaching and expanding into the lives of every human being At this time, we gradually recognize the strawberry garden, peach garden, bamboo garden, the fragrance of grapefruit flower, orange flowers, twining vines of Tonkin jasmine, banana bunches, guava, water tank in New Poetry are really meaningful 4.2.2.2 Garden - the salvation of the soul As a way to free oneself, the poets of New Poetry tend to escape from reality, nostalgize for the past And the garden is a place for the poets to open up Garden - a loving ecological space, a concept of a clean, familiar and peaceful place in everyone’s mind It may be a place which is 19 associated with the place of birth and growth, it can also be a place to return and soothe the soul after years of exile Then, first of all, the garden appears in the poems as the images of the old garden - memories More than that, the garden is also a place to love, a garden of loveforthe poets When the romantic poets experienceendless pain and boredom, the garden is like a mother who welcomes her exiled children to return to ease the pain Perhaps only when one is immersed in nature,they can feel calm and serene, their soul liberated from the besiegement of hustle and bustle life, the garden is a haven, where the modernity cannot penetrate Here, people not dominate nature but take nature as a place to reside and purify their souls 4.2.2.3 Garden - rooted in the earth Ecological philosophy in a broad sense also views humankind and nature as one, as an integral part of the evolution of this universe With this perspective, when we examine New Poetry by surveying the symbol of the garden, we realize a whole fresh, young, new andcolourful world appeared in the poets’ gardens Nature in the garden is like an earthly party for the poets to admire, enjoy, and longing to take root in life They are gardens that are full of green, fragrances, flowers, and birds singing happily It is an ecological climate that isaspired to enjoy not only by poets but also by anyone The earthly garden of the romantic poets is always full of flowers and bustling with birds, full of sweet and fragrant breeze and light It is a garden of joy, love for life, longing for rooting to life to enjoy and dedicate it Praising and seeing the beauty of nature, thereby finding a way to live in harmony with nature and connecting with life is a positive attitude, that is also the spirit that ecocriticism reaches Sub-conclusion 20 Chapter explores the correspondence and dialogue of images and languages in New Poetry with the language of ecocriticism We have considered the corresponding homogeneity of the poems about nature with the environmental issues posed in the New Poetry era Chapter focuses on poems on forests and gardens (and related trees and animals) as a case study of the New Poetry’s involvement in the environmental issues of the times, specifically the matter of forest and forest protection in Vietnam in the colonial period CONCLUSIONS Ecocriticism in Vietnam as a literary approach has been introduced since the 2000s, partly from China and partly from Anglo-American With the achievements gaining from published books, national and international events (seminars, workshops), it can be said that ecocriticism in Vietnam is a “seed” or a “flower” of ecocriticism in the world It has its own history and appearance, undergoing three development stages: Ecocriticism in Vietnam tends to focus on writings about nature or in other words “tree stories” in literature This is clearly seen in the studies focusing on rural and wild spaces rather than urban spaces Ecocriticism in Vietnam is also likely to focus on political, social and economic issues Despite its belonging to the growing trend of ecocriticism in the world, ecocriticism in Vietnam still seems to make efforts to create its own identity, basing on the Oriental cultural tradition of the locals This is the traditional concept of the unity between man and nature Initial surveys and studies on ecocriticism in Vietnam show that researches on ecocriticism in Vietnam are on the shift of ecocriticism in its third wave Instead of limitingitself to Western studies, by shifting the research direction to non-Western countries including Vietnam, ecocriticism manifests itself as a literary criticism trend that has a profound impact and has absolutely potential to grow globally The studies of works 21 on ecocriticism in Vietnam have also contributed to affirming that ecocriticism has a lot of potentials to develop, especially in the current era of urgent environmental crisis This dissertation, as mentioned above, examines New Poetry to provide theoretical discussions on ecocriticism, a direction of research and criticism which was born in the West and based on the material ofclassical British-American literature The characteristics of New Poetry, the context of Vietnamese history before the Revolution and the tradition of writing about nature-ecology in Vietnamese literature are promising elements that will bring similarities and differences to classicalcontents of ecocriticism Specifically, the political and economic conditions of a post-colonial country, the tradition of the relationship between man and nature in Vietnamese literature from folk poetry to medieval literature, the succession and creativity of New Poetry to the contemporary Western modern literary tradition (romantic poetry, symbolic poetry, critical realistic literature):All of this poses a theoretical problem for ecocriticism.These are the local and global issues in ecocriticism: the poetic and ecological issues in countries outside of the West question the universality of Western ecocriticism And the analysis of the relationship between nature and people in poetry outside of the West somewhat provides critical voices for eco-critical theory Critical voices, rather than differences and mismatches coming from the literary world outside of the West have a great potential for developing ecocriticism from a theoretical perspective And this is also what the theorists of ecocriticism have mentioned in terms of theoretical and practical aspects Therefore, it is a premise for us to survey New Poetry (1932 - 1945) from the perspective of ecocriticism Ecocriticism is just a new approach to New Poetry, like other approaches that have been used to approach this poetry such as psychoanalysis, modernism, perspective of cultural relation, “lyrical tone”, 22 or “comparative view”… This topic has further clarified the meanings and values of New Poetry with the new tool of ecocriticism, more importantly, we have interpretations of ecocriticism from a theoretical perspective when it is put into a specific case of Vietnamese literature in general and New Poetry in Vietnam in particular: First of all, New Poetry emphasizes the external position of man compared to the natural world; the pristine feature of nature and the awareness of the lyrical subject about nature as a whole that human beings should stand outside rather than interfering between them Nature is opposed to modernity, culture; people escape from the urban world New Poetry also expresses people’s unease to the inconvenient conditions of nature, thereby projecting the issues of environmental and social justice.New Poetry has shown the correspondence and dialogue between images, languages and the theoretical discourses of ecocriticism New Poetry about nature combines different discourses, namely, the discourse on nature, the discourse on gender and the discourse on class issues, in which nature is built as a protagonist which reveals social and political dilemmas New Poetry has a corresponding homogeneity in poems about nature with the environmental issues set in the era when the New Poetry movement was born Poems about forests and gardens (and related plants and animals) show the participation of New Poetry in the environmental issues of the times, in particular the issue of forests and forest protection in Vietnam in the colonial period In today’s modern society, the progress of science and technology has partly caused people to have an attitude of turning away from nature and destroying nature excessively, causing nature to becomeexhausted In addition, in recent years, our literature has also focused on addressing trendy issues to satisfy tastes while seemly less concerning with the tradition of natural harmony By surveying New Poetry from the eco-critical point of view, we wish to enlighten the theory of ecocriticism - a 23 new literary criticism movement that has just formed and is on the way- to New Poetry - the poetry movement with its works that has been not yet ecological literature But studying New Poetry from the theory of ecocriticism makes us discover more interesting things The inspiration of nature from images, symbols and languages in New Poetry once again helps us rediscover a harmonious tradition between people and nature in East Asian literature, which is gradually being forgotten Nature in New Poetry is the place where the poets find the beauty of the region, where the poets return to shelter and save their souls after harsh days and it is also an earthly party for the poets to take root in life Above all, we realize a deep love for nature of the poets of New Poetry This love creates a beautiful picture of poetic gardens, covering a “green” colour in the literary space Knowing the beauty of nature, cherishing, respecting and living in harmony with nature are a positive attitude In contrast to the reality of the environment being devastated, we are afraid that the beauty of nature inNew Poetry will remain only in our mind one day Or perhaps, this is also a warning for people to recognize and question themselves: Please respect and live in harmony with nature Only then can people find purity and peace of mind 24 LIST OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS Articles: Book review: Desertified Forests, Dried Streams Poisoned Seas and Literature (Ecological review by Nguyen Thi Tinh Thy, Social Sciences Publishing House, H, 2017, 543 pages), published in literature studies, (No 5/2017) 2.Article: “Garden” in New Poetry (1932 - 1945) from perspective of Ecocriticism, published in the International Conference Proceedings: Ecocriticism: Local and Global Voices, Academy of Social Sciences Vietnam (No 12/ 2017) Article: Homeland as a valuable choice of Nguyen Binh, published in the the national Conference proceedings: Hundred years of traditional and modern Nguyen Binh, Literature Institute of Van Lang University (No.7/ 2018) Article: Literature and environmental justice,published in literature studies, (No 3/2019) Article: Characteristics of rural picture in the New Poetry (1932-1945) from ecocriticism perspective, published in Scientific Journal of HaNoi Metropolitan University, (No 36/2019) 25 ... ecocriticism to explore an important entity of Vietnamese literature in the twentieth century, Thơ Mới (New Poetry) Research Purposes and Objectives 2.1 Purposes of the research This research examines... for those who are interested in ecocriticism and willing to discover more values of New Poetry (1932- 1945) The structure of the dissertation In addition to the Introduction, Conclusions, References,... ecocriticism from a theoretical perspective is 27 articles (Table attached) and ecocriticism surveyed includes 77 documents (Table attached) Through surveying the two tables, the writer realizes