On Canadian Poetry

On Canadian Poetry

On Canadian Poetry is a fine overview of 19th-and early to mid-20th-century Canadian poetry by E.K. Brown (Toronto, 1943; rev 1944). Brown begins with a cogent analysis of the "problem of a Canadian literature," continues by tracing the development of Canadian poetry from the late 18th century to the 1940s and closes with an evaluation of our 3 "masters" - Archibald Lampman, D.C. Scott and E.J. Pratt. The Governor General's Award-winning On Canadian Poetry is largely responsible for the current general view that these poets are the major figures of the era, and that Charles G.D. Roberts and Bliss Ccarman are of less importance. Brown provides subtle and penetrating interpretations of individual poems and poets, as well as what Northrop Frye has assessed as the most clearly defined context within which to study Canadian literature.