Subjugated Landscapes and Silenced Voices: An Ecofeminist Re-Reading of William Wordsworth’s Selected Poetry

Abstract

Ecofeminism provides an essential theoretical apparatus for dissecting the twin structures of oppression that link the subjugation of non-human nature with the marginalization of women within patriarchal systems. While literary historiography frequently canonizes William Wordsworth as the quintessential high priest of nature and the herald of ecological consciousness, this critical re-evaluation exposes the deeply entrenched androcentric and anthropocentric foundations governing his major lyrical works. Focusing on "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" and the "Lucy Poems," this paper demonstrates how Wordsworth appropriates the natural world as an unpaid psychic caregiver and instrumentalizes female subjects as silent mirrors for masculine self-actualization. Ultimately, the study reveals that Wordsworthian romanticism, rather than modeling an egalitarian biocentrism, often reproduces the logic of domination that naturalizes the erasure of women and the exploitation of the earth.