Elegy and Ecology in Watership Down

Abstract

In a time of environmental dispute, this essay strives to combine ecology with literature and music. Richard Adams wrote his novel Watership Down in 1972, in growing societal ecological awareness. A film adaptation of this novel was released in 1978, a series adaptation containing 4 episodes in 2018. Both adaptations are paired with a certain theme song, a song written especially for the adaptation. Adams’ novel exhibits the consequences of human actions for the environment through portraying the lives of rabbits in England’s countryside. His vivid descriptions shed light on the effects of myxomatosis and counter-urbanization. Whereas raising ecological awareness may have been Adams’ main goal, the adaptations’ effectiveness in doing so is up for debate.