Overview

Dilek Bulut Sarıkaya scrutinizes human-plant entanglement in the poetry of Thomas Hardy and Sylvia Plath from the perspective of critical plant studies, which is committed to restoring the lost connection between humans and plants. The author offers a theoretical reading of Hardy and Plath’s poetry, focusing specifically on how plants are depicted by these two poets as self-conscious and emotional individuals who are turned into vulnerable victims of humans’ exploitative practices. The author develops a critical argument on the necessity of eradicating humans’ anthropocentric mindsets, categorizing plants as sessile, inert objects and replaces it with a plant-centric world view, perceiving plants as instantly active biological organisms who exist with their botanical accuracy rather than with the impositions of humans’ metaphoric meanings upon them.

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9781666955217

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Reviews

Dilek Bulut Sarıkaya weaves together a vast knowledge from critical plant studies discussing historical roots of plant sensitivity, vegetal memories, biological notion of plants, and consciousness of plant thinking to provide a testimony of the botanical accuracy of the vegetal beings. Human-Plant Entanglement and Vegetal Agency in the Poetry of Thomas Hardy and Sylvia Plath suggests a recognition of plant vitality in the daily lived-in experiences and cultural practices in the real world and argues that human-plant entanglements are not merely constrained within the literary realm. Sarıkaya's message about botanical awareness is profoundly essential at this time in history as we come to terms with the anthropocentric assumptions of plantiness and global capitalism. This book significantly contributes to environmental humanities in general and plant humanities or phytocriticism in particular. --Subarna De, Environmental Humanities Scholar

Author Information

Dilek Bulut Sarikaya is associate professor of English literature at Cappadocia University.

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