The Beginnings of a National Literary Tradition
Canadians throughout their history have been concerned over the status
of their national literature. One of the major problems facing early Canadian
writers was that the language and poetic conventions that they had inherited
from the Old World were inadequate for the new scenery and conditions in which
they now found themselves. Writers such as Susanna Moodie, Samuel Hearne, and
Oliver Goldsmith were what I would consider "Immigrant" authors. Even though
they were writing in Canada about Canada their style and their audiences were
primarily England and Europe. These authors wrote from an Old World perspective
and therefore were not truly Canadian authors. It took a group of homespun
young writers in the later part of the 19thCentury to begin to build a genuine
"discipline" of Canadian literary thought. This group, affectionately known as ‘
The Confederation Poets', consisted of four main authors: Charles G.D. Roberts,
Bliss Carman, Duncan Campbell Scott, and Archibald Lampman. The Poets
ofConfederation "established what can legitimately be called the first distinct
"school" of Canadian poetry"(17, Keith). The term ‘The Poets of Confederation'
is a misnomer since not one of these poets/authors was more than ten years old
when the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867. However, all of these writers
were aware of the lack of a distinctive Canadian literary tradition and they
made efforts to create one for their successors. While each of these men had
their own distinctive writing style they all sought to contribute and create a ‘
national' literature. According to R.E.Rashley in Poetry in Canada: The First
Three Steps " there is no Canadian poetry before [The Confederation Poets]
time"(98). These men were the first in a long line of authors and artists to
conceive of the need for a discernible national literature. The Confederation
Poets function was to "explore the new knowledge that they had acquired of
themselves that had been created by the interaction of environment and people
and the concept of evolutionary growth"(Rashley 98). Archibald Lampman was a
key note in the beginnings of a national literary movement. Before Lampman and
the other Confederation poets there seemed to be a mere repetition of European
ideas in literature in Canada. Even though Lampman was influence...
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...oet of Nature. Montreal: Louis
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Lampman, Archibald. The Poems of Archibald Lampman. Toronto: University of
Toronto, 1974.
Marshall, John. "Archibald Lampman". Critical Views on Canadian Writers:
Archibald Lampman. Ed. Michael Gnarowski. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1970.
Rashley, R.E. Poetry in Canada: The First Three Steps. Toronto: Ryerson Press,
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“Although both articles are exploring writing and the change that needs to or that does happen, Peter Elbow’s idea of growth in writing is a more naïve and simplistic approach to writing, where as Somers and Saltz’s article, while still very general, takes a more realistic point of view at the writing experience for students and new writers”.
During the 1700’s it was becoming clear that history was changing literature. Writers from this time period could see the way Americans were being treated and wrote stories as a push for independence. In gaining independence everyone fled to America to become free from Britain, our “mother country.” The migration of people created what is known as a melting pot in America. Without history changing literature there would’ve been no actual declaration of independence because so many writers wouldn’t have written about what Britain did to the colonies.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale UP. 2000.
When a writer starts his work, most often than not, they think of ways they can catch their reader’s attention, but more importantly, how to awake emotions within them. They want to stand out from the rest and to do so, they must swim against the social trend that marks a specific society. That will make them significant; the way they write, how they make a reader feel, the specific way they write, and the devotion they have for their work. Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgard Allan Poe influenced significantly the American literary canon with their styles, themes, and forms, making them three important writers in America.
There are simply two types of people in this world; good people and bad people. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the King of Scotland (well at least at the beginning of the play) whom is King Duncan, would be labeled as a good person. Duncan is viewed as Macbeth’s opposite, since Macbeth’s characteristics are all made to be pointed out as a bad person. The story of Macbeth is all about greed, power, and guilt. Macbeth becomes greedy when he kills Duncan in order to become king and to gain power. Lady Macbeth on the other hand is stricken with guilt at what she has caused her husband to do. The murder of Duncan is extremely crucial in the story, as is his character himself. In our society now, one person whose actions and words that is quite similar to Duncan’s overall effect is Justin Bieber.
Gilbert, S., Gubar, S. (2000) The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and Nineteenth Century Literary Imagination. Yale University Press. Dixon, R W (1886) Personal letters.
As every well-read person knows, the background in which you grow up plays a huge role in how you write and your opinions. Fuller grew up with a very strict education, learning multiple classic languages before she was eight years old. Fern grew up with writers all throughout her family and had a traditional education and saw first hand the iniquities of what hard-working had to contend with. Through close analysis of their work, a reader can quickly find the connections between their tone, style, content, and purpose and their history of their lives and their educational upbringing.
Writers throughout history have always influenced or have been influenced by the era that which they live in. Many famous authors arose during The Age of Discovery and The Romantic Period all of whom had very distinctive writing styles that held true to their era. To find the differences between the two eras, it is important to understand the era at which time the literature was wrote, the writing style, and the subject matter.
While this essay can in no way claim to contain a fully representative sampling of what various scholars have contributed relative to the ongoing debate over the literary canon, I will attempt to highlight three distinct positions which are all informed by John Guillory's critical contributions to the canonical debate. First, I will discuss the concept of ideology and canon formation as Guillory first articulated it in his 1983 essay, "The Ideology of Canon Formation: T. S. Eliot and Cleanth Brooks," and which he subsequently thoroughly revised and included in his 1993 book on canon formation, Cultural Capital: The Problem of literary Canon Formation This essay on the ways ideology and cultural politics complicates and informs canon formation, also discusses Guillory's theory concerning the death Joe Weixlmann who offers his own commentary concerning how ideology and politics of literary orthodoxy in favor of a more democratically situated heterodoxy, and how this concept of a heterodoxy might inform the university's literary curriculum. Next, Christopher Ricks' essay, 'What is at stake in the "battle of the books"?" will be analyzed to determine if his attack on Guillory's assertions relative to his critique of the current status of the canonical debate contributes in any meaningful way to opinions about whether or not the literary canon should be revised. Finally, the several critics who have now offered commentary on Guillory's latest theories on canon formation as articulated in Cultural Capital will be discussed relative to how influential they perceive Guillory's latest work to be as it pertains to the ongoing debate over the nature of the extant literary canon.
Gilbert, Sarah M. and Gubar, Susan. "From the Infection in the Sentence: The Woman Writer and the Anxiety of Authorship." The Critical Condition: Classic Texts andContemporary Trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1361-74.
“A Tale Intended to be After the Fact…” is how Stephan Crane introduced his harrowing story, “The Open Boat,” but this statement also shows that history influences American Literature. Throughout history, there has been a connection among literary works from different periods. The connection is that History, current events, and social events have influenced American Literature. Authors, their literary works, and the specific writing styles; are affected and influenced by the world around them. Authors have long used experiences they have lived through and/or taken out of history to help shape and express in their works. Writing styles are also affected by the current trends and opinions of the period they represent. By reading American Literature, we have seen the inhumane treatment of slaves, we have seen the destruction caused by wars, and we have seen the devastation of eras such as The Great Depression.
Strong author of the scale is the ability to literature passage are set separately from the context and the expression of all of the recipes or writing. When this happens, and integrated into the total work is a sign of true art. Ernest Hemingway, author of the lost generation, was one of the writers who have mastered the art of investment mastered to build a simple sentence with complex layers of meaning. Hemingway, who was a journalist in the early years of his career in writing and published in prose style or a short induction. He said the emotional depth and meaning conveyed minimalist text is great. And also try to develop a stream of consciousness by writers such as James Joyce and William
English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form.
When asked the question, “what is world literature,” the typical response you get from people (mostly students) is, world literature is this boring college course in which students are forced to take, as it is a requirement for everyone’s education and is about what some dead guys wrote centuries ago. However, I personally do not have that same response because world literature is much more than that. In actuality, yes, world literature is composed of tremendous works of literature throughout the world that will forever be pasted down and learned from, although, it is much more important and serves as a bigger purpose. This purpose is to enlighten today’s society on how the world once was, making world literature important for three main reasons.