Snyder's Civilization: Poem Analysis

In his poem “Civilization”, Snyder depicts nature’s beauty and greatness (Arun and Saraswat). Being concerned with four basic areas “indigenous” cultures and civilizations, Asian cultures, ecology and ecopetics, makes Snyder a pillar in environmental imagination by creating a “new view of nature and man” (Park). From the very beginning, Snyder gives his own definition of man-made civilization. It is a term describing people doing “complicated things”. This underlines an opposition with Native American world and culture which is characterized by simplicity and serenity. “In his poetry and prose, (Snyder) sung the praises of this culture expressed its deepest meanings and showed its intimate connections with other indigenous cultures including

The poem focuses on the relationship between man and his physical environment as well as the conflict that exists between man and this environment as driven by the desire of man to advance his interests against those of the environment as represented by the conflicting practices done in urban areas versus those in the rural areas (Capra 76). A critical review of the poem reveals the human nature that seeks to alienate humanity and human nature from the natural world. The humanity of man is the one that drives him to build large cities that take away what would be ecological land, and the buildings culminate an environment not conducive for the wellbeing of the ecological system. Snyder’s works on Mountains and Rivers without End embodies a number of natural elements as inspired by the landscape of the East Asian region (Yang). The landscape painting reflected a chaotic natural universe, but one that created ambience for the painting to exist within an orderly setting. The vision by Snyder was reinforced by drama and art of Asian nature, the history of the Gaia, the performance of Native Americans with regard to the environment, and the practice of Buddhism by the Zen of China (Batchelor). He then drew on the varied and visually captivating landscapes of the land of Japan, Alaska, California, China and Taiwan (McDougall). The poems provide a rich epic of the natural elements of geology, the landscape as it was during the times of prehistory, and the myths that dominate the planet on the existence of the various heavenly features. A major theme in the poem is that of land and the various processes that take place within the land across the various times as captured and represented in the poem. The poem captures the wisdom there is in caring for the environment, compassion not only to mankind but also to the environment, and the