The "world of green" refers to a literary concept, the Green World, which is used to juxtapose the civilized human realm with the often harsh natural world.
Understanding the Green World
According to literary critic Northrop Frye, who introduced the term in his book Anatomy of Criticism (1957), the Green World serves as a contrasting setting to the world of human society. This natural realm often acts as a space for transformation, escape, and self-discovery.
Key Characteristics of the Green World:
- Contrast to Civilization: The Green World stands in stark contrast to the structured and often restrictive world of human society. It embodies a space where the rules of the civilized world do not apply.
- Place of Transformation: Characters often enter the Green World in pursuit of something, whether it’s love, freedom, or self-understanding. The experiences they undergo in this natural environment lead to growth, change, and new perspectives.
- Natural Setting: This world is characterized by its natural features like forests, wilderness, or pastoral settings. It often represents a departure from urban and controlled environments.
- Element of Danger: While the Green World may offer freedom and escape, it can also be dangerous and unpredictable, requiring characters to confront their own limits and fears.
- Resolution and Return: Characters often return from the Green World, transformed by their experiences, and ready to re-enter the world of civilization with new wisdom.
Examples in Literature:
Many classic works of literature utilize the Green World concept:
- Shakespearean Comedies: In plays like A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It, the forest acts as a space for romantic entanglements and personal discovery, standing in contrast to the rigid societies the characters left behind.
- Pastoral Poetry: Works featuring idealized rural settings often use natural spaces as places of escape and reflection.
- Fantasy Literature: Many fantasy narratives use wilderness areas or enchanted forests as realms of transformation and challenge.
The Green World as a Symbol
The Green World is not just a place; it is also symbolic:
- Freedom and Escape: It represents freedom from societal constraints, offering an escape from the everyday world.
- Nature's Power: It highlights the power of nature as a force of change and transformation.
- Personal Growth: It symbolizes the path to personal growth, understanding, and self-discovery.
- Rejuvenation: It may function as a place of spiritual or physical rejuvenation.
Table Summarizing the Green World
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Definition | A space contrasting civilized human world with natural world. |
| Function | Place of transformation, escape, and self-discovery. |
| Setting | Natural landscapes like forests, wilderness, and pastoral settings. |
| Key Aspects | Contrast to civilization, danger, transformation, resolution and return to society. |
| Symbolism | Represents freedom, nature's power, personal growth, and rejuvenation. |
| Literary Examples | Shakespearean Comedies (e.g., A Midsummer Night's Dream), pastoral poetry, fantasy. |
In conclusion, the world of green, or the Green World, is a potent literary device that employs the natural realm as a space for change and contrast, revealing the transformative power of experiences outside of civilized constraints.
