EXPANSION OF THE CITY: AN ECO-CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MAJID AMJAD'S POEM “TOSEE SHEHER”

Abstract

The current research provides an eco-critical reading of Majid Amjad’s poem Tosee Sheher (expansion of the city) that focuses on the effects of urbanization on the environment and society. Urban expansion means destroying the natural habitat and thus altering the interface of man and nature. Amjad gives this aspect an important attention in his poem. Therefore, understanding the role of literature in deconstructing anthropocentric developmental paradigms and promoting environmental conservation is the core rationale for this research. The research is a qualitative content analysis study, conducted with an eco-critical approach. It aims at identifying the environmental aspects and strategies that can be found in Tosee Sheher including imagery, metaphor, and the tone of the text. Amjad’s criticism of the process is explicit: the urban environment turns nature into commodities, and fractures natural organisms. Therefore, the study finds that Amjad’s poem is a literary critique of environmental exploitation in today’s world calling for more proper balance between social development and the protection of the environment. The study prescribes the enhancement of critical views on ecology into urban planning solutions to ensure that the development is not destructive to the environment.