The Beginnings of a National Literary Tradition Essay -- Canadian Hist

The Beginnings of a study Literary TraditionCanadians throughout their history have been concerned everywhere the statusof their bailiwick literature. One of the major problems facing early Canadianwriters was that the language and poetic conventions that they had inheritedfrom the Old World were inadequate for the impudently scenery and conditions in whichthey now found themselves. Writers such as Susanna Moodie, Samuel Hearne, andOliver gold-worker were what I would consider Immigrant authors. Even thoughthey were writing in Canada somewhat Canada their style and their audiences wereprimarily England and Europe. These authors wrote from an Old World perspectiveand therefore were non truly Canadian authors. It took a group of homespunyoung writers in the later part of the 19thCentury to begin to build a genuine bailiwick of Canadian literary thought. This group, affectionately known as The Confederation Poets, consisted of quadruplet main authors Charles G.D. Roberts,Bliss C arman, Duncan Campbell Scott, and Archibald Lampman. The PoetsofConfederation established what can legitimately be called the initiatory distinctschool of Canadian metrical composition(17, Keith). The term The Poets of Confederationis a misnomer since not one of these poets/authors was more than ten years oldwhen the Dominion of Canada was make in 1867. However, all of these writerswere aware of the lack of a distinctive Canadian literary tradition and theymade efforts to create one for their successors. While each of these men hadtheir own distinctive writing style they all seek to contribute and create a national literature. According to R.E.Rashley in Poetry in Canada The FirstThree Steps there is no Canadian poetry before The Confederation Poetstime(98). These men were the first in a long line of authors and artists toconceive of the need for a discernible national literature. The ConfederationPoets function was to explore the new knowledge that they had acquired ofthemselv es that had been created by the interaction of environment and peopleand the concept of evolutionary growth(Rashley 98). Archibald Lampman was a place note in the beginnings of a national literary movement. Before Lampman andthe new(prenominal) Confederation poets there seemed to be a mere repetition of Europeanideas in literature in Canada. Even though Lampman was influence... ...oet of Nature. Montreal LouisCarrier and Co., 1929.Crawford, A.W. Archibald Lampman. unfavourable Views on Canadian WritersArchibald Lampman. Ed. Michael Gnarowski. Toronto Ryerson Press, 1970.Early, L.R. Archibald Lampman (1861-1899). Canadian Writers and their WorksVol.II. Eds. Lecker, David, & Quigley. Ontario ECW Press, 1983.Guthrie, Norman Gregor. The Poetry Of Archibald Lampman. Toronto The Musson daybook Co., 1927.Keith, W.J. Archibald Lampman. Profiles in Canadian Literature Vol.I. Ed.Jeffrey M. Heath. Toronto Dundurn Press Ltd., 1980.Lampman, Archibald. The Poems of Archibald Lampman. Toronto University ofToronto, 1974.Marshall, John. Archibald Lampman. particular Views on Canadian WritersArchibald Lampman. Ed. Michael Gnarowski. Toronto Ryerson Press, 1970.Rashley, R.E. Poetry in Canada The First Three Steps. Toronto Ryerson Press,1958.Stouck, David. Major Canadian Authors A Critical Introduction. LincolnUniversity of Nebraska Press, 1984.Stringer, Arthur. A Glance at Lampman. Critical Views on Canadian WritersArchibald Lampman. Ed. Michael Gnarowski. Toronto Ryerson Press, 1970.