Creatures Who Advocate: An Ecocritical Reading of Jubilate Agno

Authors

Min Wild, School of Society and Culture

ORCID

• Min Wild: 0000-0003-2092-617X

Abstract

For I pray God for the ostriches of Salisbury Plain, the beavers of the Medway and silver fish of Thames"(Jubilate Agno, B153): species extinction in Christopher Smart s unique poem is the focal point of this essay. That the poem s ecstatic scope offers a leveling care for the nonhuman has been acknowledged, but here I argue that it speaks out of abjection: The poet is the supplicant, asking all Earth s creatures to advocate for him before God. Additionally, focusing particularly on the figure of the beaver, I highlight the medieval animal fable as a valid mode of understanding better our animal kin today.

DOI

10.1353/ecs.2024.a931694

Publication Date

2024-01-01

Publication Title

Eighteenth-Century Studies

Volume

57

Issue

4

ISSN

0013-2586

Keywords

Beavers, Christian advocacy, Christopher Smart, Ecocriticism, Eschatology, Fable, The abject, Trauma

First Page

519

Last Page

526

Recommended Citation

Wild, M. (2024) 'Creatures Who Advocate: An Ecocritical Reading of Jubilate Agno', Eighteenth-Century Studies, 57(4), pp. 519-526. Available at: 10.1353/ecs.2024.a931694" >https://doi.org/10.1353/ecs.2024.a931694