DOCSLIB.ORG

MHRD-UGC Epg Pathshala - English

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
MHRD-UGC Epg Pathshala - English MHRD-UGC ePG Pathshala - English Principal Investigator & Affiliation: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee, University of Hyderabad Paper No & Title: Canadian, Australian and South Pacific Literatures in English (Paper 07) Paper Coordinator & Affiliation: Prof. Suchorita Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University, Kolkata Module Number & Title: Pre-Confederation Poetry (15) Content Writer's Name & Affiliation: Dr. Swagata Bhattacharya, Jadavpur University Name & Affiliation of Content Reviewer: Prof. Suchorita Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University Name & Affiliation of Language Editor: Prof. Suchorita Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University In this module, you are going to learn the following topics: Historical Background Background of Canadian Poetry Introduction to Pre-Confederation Poetry Biography of Oliver Goldsmith Summary of The Rising Village Biography of Joseph Howe Summary of ‘Acadia’ Biography of Charles Sangster Summary of The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay 1. Background: John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), originally an Italian navigator and explorer, started on a voyage from Bristol under the patronage of King Henry VII of England and landed on Newfoundland in 1497. In 1524, the French king Francis I sent Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the New World. On August 5, 1583, Humphrey Gilbert of England formally took possession of Newfoundland. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded France’s first permanent colony in Canada in Quebec. The colony, called Acadia, grew slowly, reaching a population of about five thousand by 1713. Canada was then known as New France. Britain took over the southern regions along the Hudson Bay (which is at present in the United States of America). British and French tussle over domination over the North American landmass continued for another fifty years. With the end of the Seven Years War and the subsequent signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France was forced to give up all its territories in North America to Britain. From here on starts the British domination over the landmass of North America. However, French settlement continued. Canada eventually got divided into Canada East and Canada West – Canada East was French dominated and Canada West was English dominated. The Confederation of 1867 merged East and West Canada. The Dominion of Canada came into existence on July 1, 1867. Historically, Acadia has remained a significant name since it has been made immortalized by both Oliver Goldsmith and Joseph Howe in their poems which we shall discuss later in this module. 2. Pre-Confederation Poetry: Poetry written before 1825 and between 1825 to 1867 is known as pre-Confederation Poetry in the context of Canadian literature. The earliest works of poetry were mainly written by visitors who described the new territories in optimistic terms. The intended readership was of course the Europeans. One of the earliest works of Canadian poetry was Robert Hayman’s Quod Libets, composed in Newfoundland and published as early as 1628. Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were the most popular regions which dominated early Canadian poems. With the growth of the Anglophone community near the end of the 18th Century, more and more poems began to appear in local newspapers targeted at the local readers. Before 1825, Canadian verse was largely dominated by Neo-classical models. The heroic couplets of English poets such as Alexander Pope and Oliver Goldsmith were the major influences. The rational order of the heroic couplet was a formidable means by which the early poets affirmed and reflected a sense of governance in their environment and in themselves. Along with the heroic couplets, James Thomson’s The Seasons (1726-46) written in blank verse had also earned recognition. After 1825, the influence of Romanticism became increasingly evident. Also local subjects came to be incorporated into poetry. For example, Joseph Howe’s ‘Acadia’ and Charles Sangster’s The St.Lawrence and the Saguenay. In 1864, the first anthology of Canadian poetry in English was produced by Edward Hartley Dewart called Selections from Canadian Poets. Practically all the verses of this period were written by amateur poets. They aimed to describe the aesthetic and economic attractions of Canada, to chronicle the achievements of their colonial society and to express the spiritual and cultural aspirations of sensitive people in a new land. The most prominent and popular poem of the period was Oliver Goldsmith’s The Rising Village (1825). The other formidable poets of the period were Jacob Bailey, and the three Charleses- Charles Sangster, Charles Mair and Charles Heavysege. It was both the first book-length poem published by a native English-Canadian and the first publication in England by a Canadian poet. Goldsmith had declared that his poem was directed to Canadians interested in the history of the literature of their country. It has also been noted by certain critics that The Rising Village was the “first autobiography of a native Canadian writer”. 3. The Rising Village i. About the poet: Oliver Goldsmith (1794-1861) joined the British Navy as an Assistant Commissary-General in 1810 and was posted in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1848 he was transferred to Hong Kong where he suffered a sun stroke and decided to take up a five-year posting at St.John’s, Newfoundland. It was while at St.John’s that Goldsmith decided to pay a visit to his ancestral homeland, Ireland. A visit to Lissoy, the familial home of the Goldsmiths resulted in the publication of The Rising Village. The poem should be viewed as the most ambitious project of an occasional poet. Goldsmith had written an opening address for local amateur theatre group formed by officers connected with the garrison at Halifax. In the Address, he wrote – “Encouraged by some friends I wrote a poem called The Rising Village which was published by John Sharpe in 1825 in London. The celebrated author of ‘The Deserted Village’ (1770) had pathetically displayed the anguish of his countrymen on being forced, from various causes, to quit their native plains, endeared to them by so many delightful recollections, and to seek refuge in regions at that time little known…in my poem, I, therefore endeavoured to describe the sufferings they experienced in a new and uncultivated country, the difficulties they surmounted, the rise and progress of a village, and the prospects which promised happiness to its future possessors.” However, The Rising Village was received with undue criticism in England after its publication. Although future researchers have failed to find any adverse comments about the poem in print, Goldsmith himself had recounted that his first serious effort did not meet with the success that he had expected. According to him, it had been criticized with undue severity and condemned cruelly. Whatever had been the nature of the alleged criticism, it did not prevent Goldsmith from reprinting the poem in February 1826 in The Canadian Review and Magazine. In 1834, The Rising Village was published in New Brunswick after further revision. ii. Summary of the poem: The poem was written between March 1822 and 1824. The central concern of The Rising Village is the control of nature, both physical and human nature, or to say it in other words, outer and inner nature. From the beginning to the end, the poem describes cyclical movements wherein control is gained and lost, regained and strenuously maintained. The control, again, refers to both physical and moral control. As the pioneers settle in the new land, the poet suspects an encroaching chaos in the physical nature of Canada as well as in the moral nature of his neighbours. ‘Nature’ carries multiple meanings- a physical nature which can be beneficent as well as malevolent and the human nature which again can be both benevolent and malevolent. The poet speaks of nature’s ruggedness to signify the harsh reality of the wilderness faced by the pioneers, but he employs phrases such as “by nature nourished” to convey his understanding of and faith in nature as a benevolent mother. Physical nature is for Goldsmith both a terrifying wilderness (inclusive of Indians and wild beasts) and a nourishing nature in abstract. In the human sphere, nature is also two sided- there is the virtuous nature of the civilized man, the product of controlled instinct. On the other side, there is the instinctual human nature, the human equivalent of the wilderness, a darker entity that must be controlled if civilization is to progress. Goldsmith’s achievement is the depiction in general terms of the cyclical pattern of defeat and victory in the pioneer’s control over ‘nature’. In the initial lines, what appeals most is the orderliness of the Old World. In Britain, everything and everyone occupies its proper place in the social hierarchy- “Chaste and splendid…scenes that lie/ Beneath the circle of Britannia’s sky.” (27-28) The word chaste suggests Goldsmith’s moralism and his association of virtue with social order and economic prosperity. The commercial and agrarian interests are viewed necessarily as compatible for the sake of the colonies’ prosperity. The first imposition of order on the wilds of Acadia culminates in the triumph of agriculture – “And where the forest once its foliage spread,/ the golden corn triumphant waves its head” (71-72) The initial battle is thus won, the wilderness has been controlled and transformed into civilization. Now, the pioneer finds time to relax. Just when he has started to think that his control is supreme, “new ills arise” (79). Now begins the struggle against human nature – “the murderous band of Indians” (85). In this second phase, it was necessary to triumph over the “savage Indians” with civilization. The triumph of the axe and agriculture must be followed by “arts of culture”. Hence comes the tavern, the country store, the doctor, the church and the schoolhouse. The final challenge to the rising village’s prosperity is expressed in the tale of two village youths, Albert and Flora.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Historical Portraits Book
    HH Beechwood is proud to be The National Cemetery of Canada and a National Historic Site Life Celebrations ♦ Memorial Services ♦ Funerals ♦ Catered Receptions ♦ Cremations ♦ Urn & Casket Burials ♦ Monuments Beechwood operates on a not-for-profit basis and is not publicly funded. It is unique within the Ottawa community. In choosing Beechwood, many people take comfort in knowing that all funds are used for the maintenance, en- hancement and preservation of this National Historic Site. www.beechwoodottawa.ca 2017- v6 Published by Beechwood, Funeral, Cemetery & Cremation Services Ottawa, ON For all information requests please contact Beechwood, Funeral, Cemetery and Cremation Services 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa ON K1L8A6 24 HOUR ASSISTANCE 613-741-9530 • Toll Free 866-990-9530 • FAX 613-741-8584 [email protected] The contents of this book may be used with the written permission of Beechwood, Funeral, Cemetery & Cremation Services www.beechwoodottawa.ca Owned by The Beechwood Cemetery Foundation and operated by The Beechwood Cemetery Company eechwood, established in 1873, is recognized as one of the most beautiful and historic cemeteries in Canada. It is the final resting place for over 75,000 Canadians from all walks of life, including im- portant politicians such as Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn and Prime Minister Sir Robert Bor- den, Canadian Forces Veterans, War Dead, RCMP members and everyday Canadian heroes: our families and our loved ones. In late 1980s, Beechwood began producing a small booklet containing brief profiles for several dozen of the more significant and well-known individuals buried here. Since then, the cemetery has grown in national significance and importance, first by becoming the home of the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces in 2001, being recognized as a National Historic Site in 2002 and finally by becoming the home of the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery in 2004.
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Mair and the Ecological Indian Katia Grubisic
    Document generated on 10/02/2021 6:07 p.m. Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne “Savage nations roam o’er native wilds”: Charles Mair and the Ecological Indian Katia Grubisic Volume 30, Number 1, Spring 2005 Article abstract Charles Mair portrays the First Nations people as embodying the intersection URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/scl30_1art03 point between ecology and race. In Tecumseh, Mair contrasts their communal connection with nature with the devastating effects of their political See table of contents mistreatment. His poem "The Last Bison" is a dual narrative of dispossession, showing how both the First Nations peoples and the buffalo were reduced to servile scarcity. The implied sensitivity of these works seems Publisher(s) incommensurable with Mair's employment as a government agent participating in the Western expansionist movement that was directly The University of New Brunswick responsible for the destruction of First Nations people. The critical examination of this paradox in Mair's life and work illuminates his efforts to ISSN reconcile civilization and wilderness even if he cannot offer any feasible solution. However, it is significant that Mair's poetry performs a nuanced 0380-6995 (print) dialogue that others his subject while simultaneously allowing the other a 1718-7850 (digital) voice, elevating his work beyond a narrative of dispossession to one of possession. Explore this journal Cite this article Grubisic, K. (2005). “Savage nations roam o’er native wilds”:: Charles Mair and the Ecological Indian. Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, 30(1), 58–82. All rights reserved © Management Futures, 2005 This document is protected by copyright law.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Introduction That a volume of the poetry of Alexander McLachlan should be given a foremost place in the Literature of Canada: Poetry and Prose in Reprint series cannot be questioned. Douglas Lochhead in his introduction to one of the volumes of this series - Dewart's anthology, Selections from Canadian Poets - has focussed atten- tion on the argument of Edward Hartley Dewart that 'a national literature is an essential element in the formation of national character.' If the statement was important in 1864 when the Canadian nation struggling to be born was composed of largely homogeneous ethnic groups, it is of even greater significance to- day, when so many of the Dominion's population are recent immigrants from many nations, who have only a very limited notion of what the Canadian 'national character' is, or of the identity they are seeking when they take out Canadian citizen- ship. Even many Canadians of the second or third generation have an equally vague notion of what Canada is all about. While back- ground studies in history, politics, and sociology make a good attempt to overcome deficient knowledge of the past, these alone are not enough. They need to be supplemented with studies in the early literature of Canada; and foremost in any literature stands the work of the poets. Dewart ranks Alexander McLachlan as a major early Canadian poet second only in importance to Charles Sangster. While much of his poetry may appear imitative and of a highly derivative nature, seen in its proper historic perspective it is more than just a pale reflection of the intellectual ideas permeating the thought of nineteenth-century British writers.
    [Show full text]
  • Provincial Plaques Across Ontario
    An inventory of provincial plaques across Ontario Explore the Online Plaque Guide at heritagetrust.on.ca/plaques Last updated: July 29, 2016 An inventory of provincial plaques across Ontario Plaque title Location Region County/District Municipality "Canada First" Movement, The At the entrance to the National Club, 303 Greater Toronto Area City of Toronto City of Toronto Bay Street, Toronto "Cariboo" Cameron 1820-1888 On the grounds of his former home, Eastern Ontario United Counties of Stormont, Dundas Township of South Glengarry Fairfield, which now houses Legionaries of and Glengarry Christ, County Road 2 and County Road 27, west of Summerstown "Colored Corps" 1812-1815, The On Queenston Heights, near the Brock Niagara Falls and Region Regional Municipality of Niagara Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake monument, Queenston "Cyclone" Taylor 1885-1979 In Memorial Park, Yonge Street, Tara Southwestern Ontario County of Bruce Municipality of Arran-Elderslie "Howie" Morenz 1902-1937 In Howie Morenz Memorial Gardens, Southwestern Ontario County of Perth Township of West Perth Blanchard and Huron Streets, Mitchell "King" Capron 1796-1872 In front of his former home, 8 Homestead Southwestern Ontario County of Brant County of Brant Road, Paris "Ned" Hanlan 1855-1908 Near the ferry dock, Hanlans Point, Toronto Greater Toronto Area City of Toronto City of Toronto Islands, Toronto "Old" City Hall 1899-1965 In front of the east wing of the building, 60 Greater Toronto Area City of Toronto City of Toronto Queen Street West, Toronto "Pirate" Johnston 1782-1870
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of Canadian Literature in the Special Collections of the Trent University Archives As of March 2012
    Bibliography of Canadian Literature in the Special Collections of the Trent University Archives as of March 2012. This collection has grown over a number of decades and often through donations. Early on the Library’s base collection was built via the Shell Canada Fund for Canadian Literature. Later donors of significant numbers of books include, A.J.M. Smith, Margaret Laurence, and Hugh and Elizabeth Anson-Cartwright. Note: This bibliography is in Library of Congress call number order. The first section lists Canadian literature serials and the second section lists monographs. The monographs are both fiction and literary criticism. Canadian Literature Serials Coming Attractions 89 / edited by Maggie Helwig & Bronwen Wallace. Ottawa, Ont. : Oberon Press, c1989. PS 8329 .C65 1989 TC Coming attractions 99 / edited by Maggie Helwig. [Ottawa] : Oberon Press, 1999. PS 8529 .C65 1999 TC Coming attractions 97 / Elyse Gasco, Dennis Bock, & Nadine McInnis. [Ottawa] : Oberon Press, c1997. PS 8329 .C65 1997 TC The Grammateion : the St. Michael's College journal of the arts. [Toronto] : The College, [1975]- PS 8001 .G73 V.9 NO.1 1983 SPC PS 8001 .G73 V.9 NO.2 1983 SPC Index, a guide to good reading. Montreal, Index editorial service, 1946-9999. PS 8001 .I4885 V.1, NO.6 (AUG. 1946) Intercourse; contemporary Canadian writing. Montreal, Poverty Press. PS 8001 .I5 NO.4 (1966?) It needs to be said (Kingston, Ont. : 1976) Kingston, Ont. [1976] PS 8001 .I732 NO.2 (FALL 1976) It needs to be said/the front. Kingston, Ont. [s.n.] PS 8001 .I732 NO.1 [1976] The Literary garland, and British North American magazine.
    [Show full text]
  • Canadian Essays
    CANADIAN ESSAYS CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL BY THOMAS O’HAGAN, M.A, Ph.D. Author of “A Gate of Flowers," “In Dreamland," “Songs of the Settlement," “ Studies in Poetry,” etc. “ But thou, my country, dream not thou ! IVake, and behold how night is done,— How on thy breast, and o'er thy brow, Btirsts the uprising sun!" —Roberts. TORONTO: WILLIAM BRIGGS V 50\^ Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand nine hundred and one, by Thomas O’Hagan, at the Department of Agriculture. TO THE BROTHERS ' OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, DISCIPLES OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, THE FATHER OF MODERN PEDAGOGY, I DEDICATE, WITH SINCERE ADMIRATION, THIS VOLUME. ^80038 PREFACE. The following essays have appeared during the past few years in various magazines, and are now submitted to the public for the first time in book form. It will be noticed that they all deal with some phase of Canadian history or literature, and it is hoped that their publication will to some extent attain the purpose which their author has in view, namely, the promotion of a wider and better acquaintance on the part of Canadians with the historical and intellectual development of their own country. It is quite true that nothing can be added to the literary worth of an author by injudicious praise, nor will puffery give poet, novelist or historian a seat in the parquet of true merit or a niche in the temple of permanent fame. Yet does it not seem, to say the least, shortsighted and unpatriotic that we Canadians should busy ourselves with the literary beginnings of other lands, and pay but little heed to the literary colonizers and toilers of our own? Is it, indeed, true “ that one hears more of the Canadian vi PREFACE.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hero of the Saskatchewan, Life Among the Ojibway and Cree Indians, in Canada
    , (fitmta IntfaprHtlg IGthranj KINGSTON, ONTARIO THE HERO OF THE SASKATCHEWAN. LIFE AMONG THE OJIBWAY AID CREE INDIA! IN CANADA. BY JOHN MCLEAN, M.A., Ph.D. (ROBIN RUSTLER.) Author of " The Indians of Canada" — "James Evans, Inventor of the Syllabic System of the Cree Language"— &c., &c. REPRINTED FROM THE BARR1E EXAMINER. BARRIE, ONT. : Thb Barrie Examiner Printing and Publishing House. 1891. GEORGE McDOUGALL, Saskatchewan. The Hero of the THE HERO OF THE SASKATCHEWAN LIFE AMONG THE OJIBWAY AND GBEE INDIANS IN CANADA. JOHN MCLEAN, M.A., Ph.D. (ROBIN RUSTLER.) Author of "The Indians of Canada''— " James Evans, Inventor of the Syllabic System of the Cree Language"— &c., &c. REPRINTED FROM THE BA ERIE EXAMINER BARRIE, ONT. : Thb Barrie Examiner Printing and Publishing House. 1891. TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE SAMUEL SOBIESKI NELLES, D.D., LL.D., CHANCELLOR OF VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, MY HONORED INSTRUCTOR AND FRIEND. PREFACE. jSjBARLY in the year 1881 the plan of this book was conceived, and materials ^ejll begun to be collected which in the two following years were utilized in the preparation of the manuscript. In 1884 the book was laid aside unfinished and not uutil the present year was it resumed. The task is now ended, some- what imperfectly, but we hope these pages will not have been written iu vain. MOOSEJAW, A.SSINIBOIA, Canada, December 10 th, 1890. JOHN McLEAft. CONTENTS Preface. Chapter I. Birth and Boyhood 1 II. Youth and Early Manhood 3 III. Missionary Preparation 5 IV. Alderville 7 V. Garden River . 9 VI. Rama 11 Vil. Norway House 13 VIII.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading the Canadian Battlefield at Quebec, Queenston, Batoche, and Vimy
    Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 11-20-2015 12:00 AM Reading the Canadian Battlefield at Quebec, Queenston, Batoche, and Vimy Rebecca Campbell The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. D.M.R. Bentley The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in English A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Rebecca Campbell 2015 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Literature in English, North America Commons Recommended Citation Campbell, Rebecca, "Reading the Canadian Battlefield at Quebec, Queenston, Batoche, and Vimy" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 3412. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3412 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Reading the Canadian Battlefield at Quebec, Queenston, Batoche, and Vimy (Thesis format: Monograph) by Rebecca Anne Campbell Graduate Program in English A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Rebecca Campbell 2015 Abstract Early Canadian cultural history is punctuated by a series of battlefields that define not only the Dominion’s expanding territory and changing administration, but also organize Canadian time. This dissertation examines the intersection between official military commemoration, militarism as a social and cultural form, and the creation of a national literature, with specific reference to poetry.
    [Show full text]
  • The Canadian Monthly, 1872-1882.
    THE CANADIAN MONTHLY, 1872-1882 Marilyn G. Flitton B.A., McGill University, 1942- A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL F'ULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department 0 f English @ MARILYN G. FLITTON 1973 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY April 1973 All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without per- mission of the author. APPROVAL Name : Marilyn G. Flitton Degree : Master of Arts Title of Thesis: The Canadian Monthly, 1872-1882 Examining Committee: Chairman: Stephen A. Black Bruce H. Nesbitt! Senior Supervisor Gordon R. Elliott Sandra A. Djwa Victor G. Hopwood Associate Professor University of British Columbia Vancouver, B .C . Date Approved : March 19, 1973 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis /~issertation: The Canadian Monthly, 1872-1882 Author : (signature) Marilyn G. Flitton (name ) May 1, 1973 (date) ABSTRACT THE CANADIAN MONTHLY, 1872-1882 Much valuable source material directly related to the development of Canadian literature can be found in the Canadian periodicals of the nineteenth century, one of the most important of which is the Canadian Monthly and National Review.
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Sangster - Poems
    Classic Poetry Series Charles Sangster - poems - Publication Date: 2012 Publisher: Poemhunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive Charles Sangster(16 July 1822 – 9 December 1893) Charles Sangster was a Canadian poet whose 1856 volume, The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay, "was received with unanimous acclaim as the best and most important book of poetry produced in Canada until that time." He was "the first poet who made appreciative use of Canadian subjects in his poetical work." The Dictionary of Canadian Biography calls him "the best of the pre-confederation poets." <b>Life</b> Sangster was born at the Navy Yard on Point Frederick (now the site of Royal Military College of Canada), near Kingston, Ontario, the son of Ann Ross and James Sangster. A twin sister died in infancy. His father, a "joiner" or shipbuilder who worked for the British Navy around the Great Lakes, died at Penetanguishene just before Charles turned 2. His mother raised Charles and his 4 siblings on her own. Sangster was an indifferent student, finding "the school curriculum irrelevant and his masters stern and uninspiring." At 15 years old, he left school to help provide for the family. He took a job in the naval lab making cartridges at Fort Henry and two years later was transferred to the Ordnance office at the fort. About this time (1839) Sangster wrote his first serious poem, a 700-line narrative in rhyming couplets called "The Rebel." The poem "contains an extensive vocabulary and rich and imaginative historical and geographical allusions, ... beyond what might be expected of a boy ..
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Mair and the Ecological Indian
    “Savage nations roam o’er native wilds”: Charles Mair and the Ecological Indian KATIA GRUBISIC Like wild creatures generally, the bison was free from deformities. — Charles Mair, The American Bison T IS THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY: Louis Riel is hiding in some- one’s coal bin, stacks of bison bones line the new Canadian Pacific I Railway, and Charles Mair, a government agent, fervent nationalist, and second-rate Confederation Poet and playwright, is struggling to cap- ture in verse Canada’s already multiple solitudes. As part of the daunting landscape of the New World, the First Na- tions peoples, to the colonizing Europeans, seemed in Mair’s time analo- gous to the physical environment. Because most Natives lived relatively nomadic, hunting-gathering lifestyles, and because the First Nations’ life- style was so seamlessly embedded in the ecological parameters of the natu- ral world, to the white settlers, both Indians and the land seemed wild, and therefore in need of domestication and conquering. Mair’s play “Tecumseh,” his poem “The Last Bison,” and his essay The American Bi- son reveal both the attempt at appropriation and the need to configure endangered properties to reclaim; for Mair, the problem of writing wil- derness in order to claim and tame it was in principle neatly solved by the fusion of the Indian and the natural world, both of which were threatened by the colonial process, and both of which were sufficiently alien to the pioneers to warrant substantial idealization and reification. Mair’s liter- ary representation of the ecological Indian falls into a category later de- lineated by Donald Hughes: It was not a wilderness — it was a community in nature of living, among whom the Indians formed a part, but not all.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit-1 Canadian Poetry
    UNIT-1 CANADIAN POETRY Structure 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Pre-Confederation Period 1.2.1 The First Stirrings of the Poetic Culture 1.3 Confederation Period 1.3.1 Emergence of a National Literature 1.4 Modernist Period: 1.4.1 First Phase 1.4.2 Second Phase 1.4.3 Third Phase 1.5 Postmodernist /Contemporary Period 1.6 Let Us Sum Up 1.7 Review Questions 1.8 Bibliography 1.0 Objectives · To introduce the students to an understanding of the phases of Canadian poetic culture; · To familiarize them with the representative poets of the different periods; · To help them understand Canadian response towards nature. · To enable the students to gain a knowledge of Canadian spirit in poetry. 1.1 Introduction Canadian poetry over the last two centuries divides roughly in four main periods : the pre- Confederation period, the Confederation period, the modernist period and the postmodernist period. Each period has the same integrity, the same skilful moderation that is aware of the continuity of its heritage and a recalcitrance of personality. This division of Canadian poetry does not mean the water- tight compartmentalization, rather, it is a continuous growth of Canadian poetry contributing to the cumulative identity that is Canadian. Canadian poetic culture is a growth having its first stirrings of poetics culture, emergence of a national poetic culture, transitional poetic culture, modernist poetic culture and post modernist or contemporary poetic culture. 1 1.2 Pre-Confederation Period The pre-Confederation period had the first stirrings of a poetic culture before Canada became a nation.
    [Show full text]