Eruption of Krakatoa
Poet involved
What happened
The cataclysmic eruption of Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia was heard thousands of kilometers away and produced the loudest sound in recorded history. The explosion ejected approximately 25 cubic kilometers of material, causing global temperature drops and spectacular sunsets worldwide for several years. Tsunamis killed over 36,000 people in coastal regions.
Literary impact
The vivid red and orange sunsets caused by Krakatoa's atmospheric aerosols influenced painters like Edvard Munch and likely affected poetic imagery in late Victorian and Symbolist poetry. British poet Gerard Manley Hopkins described unusual sky colors in his journals during this period, and the eruption's global reach exemplified the interconnectedness of natural phenomena that fascinated fin-de-siècle writers exploring themes of sublime terror and cosmic indifference.
Source: Wikipedia
