Eco-Anxiety in the Romantic Visions of Lord Byron and P.B. Shelley: A Literary and Environmental Perspective

Abstract

This study explores the manifestation of eco-anxiety in the poetic works of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, two eminent figures of the Romantic movement, whose literary expressions encapsulate profound ecological concerns. Romanticism, as a literary and philosophical movement, emphasized the sublime beauty of nature while simultaneously expressing apprehensions about its destruction due to human intervention. This paper employs an eco-critical framework to analyze how Byron and Shelley engage with themes of environmental degradation, the consequences of industrialization, and the fragility of the natural world. Through a comparative textual analysis of Darkness by Byron and Ode to the West Wind by Shelley, the study examines the poets’ prescient environmental sensibilities and their reflections on ecological decline. Byron’s apocalyptic vision in Darkness portrays an uninhabitable world, mirroring fears of climate catastrophe, while Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind embodies both the destructive and regenerative power of nature, highlighting an intrinsic ecological awareness. The analysis underscores how both poets critique the anthropocentric worldview and foreshadow contemporary eco-critical concerns, positioning their works as early literary articulations of eco-anxiety. The findings suggest that their poetry, though rooted in the Romantic era, remains highly relevant in contemporary environmental discourse, offering insight into the emotional and philosophical dimensions of ecological crisis. This study thus contributes to the intersection of Romantic literary studies and environmental humanities, demonstrating the enduring significance of Byron’s and Shelley’s ecological thought.