Explored the impact of new discoveries in geology, natural history, and biology in the early 19th century on modern ecological consciousness, particularly the shaping of the concept of species extinction by Lyell's theory of homogenization. Tennyson's "Mourning Collection" incorporates modern ecological reflections on species extinction and the relationship between environment and species while mourning his friends. The structure of poetry has expanded from individual mourning to species mourning, reflecting the poet's understanding of modern ecological consciousness. The religious color and painful expression of the crisis of faith in "Mourning Collection" often overlook its ecological significance. The early ecological criticism academic community paid more attention to the ecological ideas in romantic literature, ignoring the dynamic relationship between species and environment under the theory of homogenization. In recent years, scholars have begun to pay attention to the scientific nature of the concept of species extinction, pointing out that the "Mourning Collection" links elegies with species extinction and provides a way to reflect on the crisis of human imagination in the Anthropocene. Tennyson's works showcase the modern ecological consciousness of environmental agency and species interaction, which is different from the organic holism of Romanticism. At the poetic level, Tennyson endowed nature with narrative agency, placing species extinction in a changing environment and contemplating human history and prospects from a species perspective. The poet holds a critical attitude towards the scientific order behind modern ecology, retaining emotional attachment to nature and constructing a cross species empathy model. Tennyson's writings on species extinction and modern ecological awareness provide valuable inspiration for contemplating current issues of species relationships and cross species empathy in the Anthropocene.

Uniformity theory and species extinction: Environmental agency in modern ecology

Explored the origin and development of modern ecological consciousness in the 19th century, particularly the formation of the concept of species extinction. Haeckel first proposed the definition of ecology, emphasizing the relationship between organisms and the environment, while natural science in the 19th century revealed the dynamic relationship between species and the environment, in contrast to the biological hierarchy and the concept of natural economy under previous creationism. Linnaeus' natural economy denies species extinction, while in the early 19th century, Lyell's theory of homogenization revealed the eternal nature of natural change, which echoes the agency of things in contemporary philosophy of the turn of things and affects the survival and extinction of species. Tennyson was interested in the new scientific ideas of the 19th century, and his writing on species extinction in his "Mourning Collection" reflects modern ecological connotations. The view of nature in Romantic poetry is distant from modern ecosystems, while Tennyson revealed the movement of the Earth itself through the theory of mean variation, demonstrating the agency of the environment. The depiction of species extinction in "Mourning Collection" embodies the aesthetic characteristics of being guided by objects, dissolving the subject and endowing the object with natural narrative agency, achieving the effect of de anthropocentrism.

Human specification: species interaction in modern ecology

Explored the relationship between humans and other species faced by scientists in the Victorian era, as well as the question of whether humans would also become extinct. The 18th century Linnaean school of animal and plant classification regarded species as typological concepts, while Darwin's theory of evolution revealed the biological similarities between humans and other species, placing humans in an ecological relationship of coevolution with non-human species. Contemporary neo materialist scholar Alai defaults to evolutionary theory, which describes human existence as a bodily fusion with living organisms, indicating that we are responsible for other living beings. Tennyson absorbed the idea of evolution and ecological thinking that regards humans as a species when creating the "Collection of Mourning". The poetry tells the overall fate of the human species. The poet connects humans with ancient creatures, revealing similar species competition and shared destiny between humans and non-human species. The uniqueness of the species interaction perspective in "Mourning Collection" lies in the fact that different species, on the basis of coexistence in the environment, also have a common experience of mutual construction, which is reflected in the biological similarity between species, as well as the interactive relationship of competition, evolution, and extinction. Tennyson placed human history and ancient organisms into the long geological epoch, achieving the dissolution of the human subject and revealing the interactive relationship between human and non-human species.

Emotional attachment to nature: an emotional supplement to modern ecology

The ecology of the 19th century was different from modern ecological thought, which believed that species extinction would help optimize the ecological structure. Victorian scientists lacked empathy and conservation awareness towards species extinction. Tennyson's attitude towards species extinction in "The Lament" is contradictory, accepting both scientific paradigms and worrying about a single scientific doctrine. The poetry collection has shifted from mourning for individual death to love for all things in nature, and emotional transfer has led to changes in natural writing. Tennyson foreshadowed ecological science, incorporating humans into ecosystems and constructing an ecological poetics that blends physical properties. Unlike romantic poetry, 'Mourning Collection' deconstructs the subject and emotionally promotes the deconstruction of the subject object relationship, shaping a cross species empathy model. The poet regards non-human species as the same kind, using warmth of the soul to resist the cold reality of scientism. The "Mourning Collection" elevates emotions from mourning individuals to mourning species, from loving individuals to loving nature, transcending sadness and connecting human and non-human species. The poetry collection shapes an ecological network of change, evolution, and interaction, revealing the history of mutual shaping between humans and non-human beings, consistent with the current understanding of the environment and species relationships in the Anthropocene, and providing inspiration for cross species empathy.