Abstract
<jats:p xml:lang="en">The volume unfolds as a critical and symbolic journey intertwining literature, ecocriticism, and an exploration of the relationship between human beings and nature. The essays span a very broad period, from medieval mystical literature to Renaissance and Romantic culture, up to contemporary culture, adopting both hermeneutic and didactic perspectives. Essays inspired by the comparative approach of Cultural Studies, together with several linguistic analyses, further enrich the volume with a multidisciplinary outlook. Literature thus emerges as a tool for knowledge and ecological awareness, capable of translating into poetic language the tensions between culture and the environment. The guiding thread – “ecocriticism and locus amoenus” – becomes the interpretative key of the volume: each essay, despite the diversity of periods and genres, contributes to redefining the relationship among humans, nature, and the word.</jats:p>