ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NIYI OSUNDARE’S THE EYE OF THE EARTH.

This essay studies the impacts of human activities on the decline of the environment and on nature in a bid to criticise the arbitrariness of the use of nature’s resources. This essay also examines the beauty of nature to enhance the protection and preservation of nature. This essay discusses the relationship of man with his environment by highlighting the harmony nature possesses. Through the use of poetry, this essay elucidates on aspects that have been covered by authors, but not by poets, reflecting the importance of poetry on nature. The method of research employed in this study is eco-criticism, and the primary data is Niyi Osundare’s The Eye of the Earth, from which selected poems are used. The analysis of the selected poems shall undergo line by line analysis and exploring the literary devices that enhance the main purpose of this essay. The results of the analysis are illustrations of nature decline as a result of human’s irrational use, and therefore the beauty of nature is tampered with. These results give an opinion on how the environment should be treated, adding that the preservation of nature will improve the living standards of humanity.