Research Interests:
This thesis explores some of the roles and functions that trees have in works of imaginative literature, as symbols, as structural elements, and as representations of real trees in the physical world. Whereas most other studies treat... more
This thesis explores some of the roles and functions that trees have in works of imaginative literature, as symbols, as structural elements, and as representations of real trees in the physical world. Whereas most other studies treat trees only as symbols, or, which is often the case, do not treat them at all, this study aims to show that it is worthwhile to pay more attention to the role of trees in books, and that they are as important as suggested by the linguistic connection between the words ‘book’ and ‘beech’, and the fact that both trees and books have ‘leaves’. Through close reading, this study shows the importance of trees in selected works by: William Shakespeare (1546-1616), with a particular focus on The Tempest and As You Like It; J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), focusing on ‘Leaf by Niggle’ (1945) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55); and Margaret Atwood (1939 –), giving particular attention to the MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013) and Up in the Tree (1978). The study is indebted to ecocriticism, especially in those parts that deal with the relationship between literary trees and trees in the physical world.