ENG354Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Northrop Frye, Confederation Poets, Counterpoint
ENG354 September 26th 2017
The City at the End of Things
-inhabitants of the city have become mechanical beings
-lost capacity for renewal
-fires extinguish: extinguishment of imaginative energy
-imagination lost through lost of nature/inspiration
-emphasis on inhuman elements emphasized the horror
-Lampman’s ideal is a group of people who encourage and cultivate each other’s individuality
-empty shell—suggests soullessness
-towers: linked to tower of babel, suggests industrialism
-in the romantic tradition, the tower represents human consciousness—a fortress and a
prison of one’s beliefs
-consciousness becoming a prison of one’s beliefs
-also suggest a divided self consciousness: split between body and soul
-the prodigious race refers to romantic poets
-as time progressed, we lost them and they were replaced with machines
-of that prodigious race, there are only three left
-the end of an era: an era of humanity based on the potential for inspiration
-what’s the rhetorical impact of having only three remaining?
-incentive to change
-apocalyptic discourse to encourage change
-inverts what is good and natural in the world and perverts it to reveal the hellishness of this
world
-ex. roaring furnaces instead of the sun
-ceaseless round of mechanical action replaces turning of the earth, the seasons
-inhuman music replaces birds, nature sound
-the split between mind and body is a problem: the mind gives us individuality, and loss of the
mind is the loss of self
-division of society into masters and slaves
-elite supported by an ignorant mass
-Lampman believed nature was a sublime vision that comforts and exults the spirit
-this version of nature is very different from what thematic critics like Northrop Frye
would have us believe is the Canadian interpretation of nature
-confederation poets in general did not view nature as malevolent
Among the Timothy
-timothy is meadow grass
-undergoes transition from bliss to renovation
-through immersion in nature his visionary powers are renewed
-process of renovation is a little bit complicated
-sadness from being in the city
-4th stanza: artistic powers start to be restored
-dramatization of artistic renewal
-showing us, not just telling us, the process of engaging with despondency and then being
reinvigorated by the natural world
-this poem acts as counterpoint to the city at the end of things, where renewal by nature is no
longer possible due to extensive industrialization
-the mower as a common symbol of death a la grim reaper
-speaker prefers to read mower as a different kind of symbol: rural labor
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
As time progressed, we lost them and they were replaced with machines. Of that prodigious race, there are only three left. The end of an era: an era of humanity based on the potential for inspiration. In the romantic tradition, the tower represents human consciousness a fortress and a. Also suggest a divided self consciousness: split between body and soul. Inhabitants of the city have become mechanical beings. Lampman"s ideal is a group of people who encourage and cultivate each other"s individuality. (cid:1688)towers(cid:1689): linked to tower of babel, suggests industrialism prison of one"s beliefs. Inverts what is good and natural in the world and perverts it to reveal the hellishness of this world. Ceaseless round of mechanical action replaces turning of the earth, the seasons. The split between mind and body is a problem: the mind gives us individuality, and loss of the mind is the loss of self.
