Environmental elements in Maltese literature - Nature as metaphor in Dun Karm, the national poet

As typically Mediterranean, Maltese literature gives paramount importance t o the natural environment and identifies its transcendental significance. L iterature of nature is somehow an offshoot of literature inspired by religi ous faith. This essay explores the central role played by nature in the wor ks of Dun Karm (1871-1961), Malta's national poet. His ecological awareness is considered as typifying an attitude which emanates from a deep love tow ards the country and from the need to discover meaning in the outer world. Poetry of an apparently descriptive character is subsequently interpreted i n existential terms.