The theme of ecological renewal from a pragma-stylistic perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31973/1apvxs87Keywords:
Nature, Renewal, implicature, Environment, ResilienceAbstract
This paper identifies the theme of ecological renewal in two selected poems: Wild Geese by the American poet Mary Oliver and Sanctuary by the Australian poet Judith Wright, who are known for their profound connection with the natural world. The pragma-stylistic analysis was carried out to display how pragmatic devices, such as implicature, presupposition, and deixis, and stylistic strategies, such as lexis, syntax, and foregrounding, contribute to the theme of ecological renewal. The study draws on the frameworks of Grice (1975) and Levinson (1983) for the pragmatic analysis, and Leech and Short (2007) for the stylistic analysis. The use of pragma-stylistic devices varies depending on how each poet presents the theme of ecological renewal. The current study utilises a mixed-methods approach in order to capture how deeply the pragma-stylistic devices contribute to highlighting the theme of ecological renewal through qualitative insights and measure instances through quantitative data. This study argues that both of Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese and Judith Wright’s Sanctuary achieve the theme of ecological renewal through pragma-stylistic strategies. The study, by combining qualitative interpretation and quantitative measurement of pragma-stylistic devices, reveals that both poets emphasise the resilience of nature and the responsibility of humans to recognise and become a part of the process of ecological restoration. The results show that Oliver strongly depends on implicature, deixis, and repetition to invite readers to become closely related with nature, whereas Wright employs irony, presuppositions, and metaphors to uncover the tension between environmental damage and resilience. These findings suggest that although there is a difference in the two poets’ styles, they contribute to a shared ecological vision highlighting renewal as something definite and necessary.
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