Ecocritical analysis of the poem Sea Songs through the Lens of the third wave of ecocriticism

This article presents an ecocritical analysis of the poem Sea Songs (translated into Greek as Θαλασσινά Τραγούδια), included in the Greek school textbook Texts of Modern Greek Literature for the First Grade of Secondary Education (Κείμενα Νεοελληνικής Λογοτεχνίας της Α’ Γυμνασίου). The main objective of the study was to identify and analyze the implicit ecological meanings of the poem that go beyond its superficial representations of idyllic beauty, drawing on the theoretical framework of the third wave of ecocriticism, as conceptualized by Buell (2005) and further developed by Heise (2008). The methodology was qualitative and interpretative, based on textual and discursive analysis of the poem, with emphasis on poetic language, metaphors, and similes. This approach made it possible to examine how these literary devices construct a specific conception of “nature” within the school text. The analysis revealed that, despite an initial appearance of harmony, complex dynamics underlie the poem, such as anthropocentrism, the reduction of the autonomy of the non-human world, and the symbolic appropriation of the natural landscape. Among the main findings, it was evident that human presence, even when seemingly integrated harmoniously with nature, actively influences its meaning and contributes to neutralizing the agency of non-human beings. In conclusion, the study highlights the need to promote more critical and reflective readings of educational texts, questioning anthropocentric hegemony and emphasizing the formative potential of ecocriticism in pedagogical contexts (Iovino & Oppermann, 2014).