Abstract

The Anthropocene has sharpened our view of human influence on the planet and magnified our understanding of global inequality. "Tide Turning: Literary Imaginations of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta and the Humber Estuary" shows not only how we respond imaginatively to the world around us in the Anthropocene, but also how we create this world through our imagination. The thesis combines analyses of literary texts of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta in the Netherlands and the Humber Estuary in Great Britain with explorations of non-literary texts that show how the people who shaped these river mouths have engaged with them imaginatively. Literary texts discussed in the thesis include "De Jacobsladder" by Maarten ‘t Hart, poems by Sean O’Brien and Peter Didsbury, "Alleen met de goden" by Alex Boogers, “East Coast Memories: A Spurn Meditation” by Ian McMillan and songs by broeder Dieleman. The thesis explores the complex and multifaceted entanglements and connections between these literary texts, the history of the landscape and its wider cultural imagination. Tide Turning investigates the responsibility that people, organisations and governments have towards the places they inhabit and manage, and the deep ties that exist between people and the landscapes in which they live. The thesis explores love and loss, mourning and hope, and the possibilities and outcomes of dreaming of a better world.