Date of Award
Spring 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
Committee Chairperson
Justin K. Rademaekers, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Carolyn Sorisio, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Kyle P. Vealey, Ph.D.
Abstract
To add to the current the current ecodiscourse, this thesis sets out to reimagine contemporary ecological discourse through the analysis of nineteenth century figures Henry David Thoreau and William Morris, two countercultural figures who dedicated their lives to protecting nature. Where Thoreau’s “Autumnal Tints” highlights autumn’s tide through a scientific narrative, Morris encapsulates the four seasons’ companionship in “Verses for Pictures,” as well as his infamous textile “Acanthus.” By synthesizing ecoadvocates’s life works from around the world and positioning them as interlocutors to Asian philosophy, art, and practice merge to evolve into a profound ecorehetoric accompanied by aesthetics. As the need for humanity and nature’s relationship continues to present itself throughout history, these post-modern signposts validate harmony between nature and humans as a needed light force against ecological degradation.
Recommended Citation
Mack, Esther KW, "Preserving the Horizon: How Henry David Thoreau and William Morris’s Environmental Aesthetics Ward Off Ecoapocalypse" (2025). West Chester University Master’s Theses. 342.
https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/all_theses/342