REPRESENTASI ALAM DALAM PUISI SAPARDI DJOKO DAMONO MELALUI KAJIAN EKOKRTITIK DAN RELEVANSINYA SEBAGAI BAHAN AJAR APRESIASI SASTRA DI SEKOLAH MENENGAH KEJURUAN

Abstract

Environmental issues have become a global concern that has attracted increasing attention across various disciplines, including literary studies. Ecocriticism has emerged as an important approach to examining the relationship between literature and the environment in order to foster ecological awareness. Poetry, as a literary genre, possesses the ability to represent the relationship between humans and nature through symbolic, aesthetic, and reflective language. This study aims to describe the representation of nature in Indonesian poems using an ecocritical approach and to analyze its relevance as teaching material for literary appreciation in Vocational High Schools (SMK). This research employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive method through library research. The primary data consisted of fifteen selected poems by Sapardi Djoko Damono and several other Indonesian poets chosen purposively based on their ecological themes. Data were collected through reading and note-taking techniques and analyzed using an interactive model consisting of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing within the framework of ecocriticism. The findings reveal four major forms of nature representation: nature as an aesthetic object, a source of life, a representation of the relationship between humans and nature, and a medium for conveying ecological values. Natural elements such as rain, trees, the sea, mountains, and flowers function as symbols representing perseverance, life, harmony, and criticism of environmental degradation. The study also identifies dominant ecological values, including love for nature, environmental awareness, ecological responsibility, harmony, and environmental conservation. These findings indicate that poetry serves not only aesthetic purposes but also educational functions in promoting ecological awareness. Furthermore, nature-themed poems are considered relevant as literary appreciation teaching materials in vocational high schools because they enhance students' interpretive and critical thinking skills while strengthening character education and ecological awareness.