Arts and Literature in Canada:Views from Abroad, Les arts et la ...

IJCS/RIÉCterms, between the poet and the natural world in which he finds himself. Does he presenthimself directly or create a separate persona for his purpose? Do we look through theprotagonist's eyes or is he presented as himself a part of the landscape? Is the narrator anobserver or a participant? A native or an outsider? A teacher or a learner?” (1980: 9).However, perspective here refers both to the poem's agent of perception and its speaker, andthe term thus lacks clarity.5. A notable exception is Alan Spiegel's discussion of visual perspectives in Fiction and theCamera Eye (1976); James A.W. Heffernan (1984) gives an equally inspiring treatment ofvisual perspective in English Romantic art and poetry. For a brief discussion of perspectivein a visual-spatial sense also cf. Bal (1985: 94).6. An aspect which features prominently in the German discussion of landscape esthetics inphilosophy, art history and literary criticism; for a survey cf. Eckhard Lobsien (1981).7. Cf. Yi-Fu Tuan (1974) on the role of attitude and world view in a person's relationship tohis/her environment: “Attitude is primarily a cultural stance, a position one takes vis-à-visthe world. ... World view is conceptualized experience. It is partly personal, largely social. Itis an attitude or belief system ...” (4).8. Appleton has been justly accused for his neglect of the cultural and historical change inlandscape experience. If prospect and refuge are defined as concepts whose definition andvalue is culture-specific, their heuristic value is indisputable.9. All poems are quoted from the editions listed in the bibliography.10. For this development also cf. Marjorie Nicolson (1959).11. This may also be claimed for American Romanticism: Tony Tanner (1987) notes a“gravitation towards empty space” (28) that is particularly strong in writers such as Bryant,Emerson, Thoreau or Whitman, although the American man/landscape relationship differsin several traits from that of the Europeans.12. “The most important relational structure is distance, and things are seen in depth with regardto the point of view, that is to say, as more or less remote from the spectator. ... The idea ofperspective can readily be associated with a growing epistemological dualism, with arigorous split between subject and object” (Guillén 1971: 293f.)13. This effect contributes to the ominousness in many of Emily Carr's forest paintings of thetwenties (a great number of which are reproduced in Shadbolt 1979).14. “The social includes all landscapes that are conducive to the life of man in the community, orthat in some way reflect social values. The antisocial consists mainly of the great primevalwilderness of mountain, sea, and forest” (Fletcher 1983: 3).15. The term is used here in the sense defined by Jean Gebser (1949): not as a mere lack, but atransgression of perspective, which Gebser considers characteristic of the modern Westernworld.16. For detailed discussions of Renaissance perspective in art history see, for example, JohnWhite (1957) and Martin Kemp (1990).17. See, for example, McGregor (1985: 348-353).18. See, for example, Ernest Redekop (1970) on Avison; Sherill Grace (1980) on Atwood.19. Cf. Miriam Waddington's “Green World Two”, Elizabeth Brewster's “Where I ComeFrom”, or Gwendolyn MacEwen's “Dark Pines Under Water.”20. It evades perspective as a “sign-format” of Western painting which, according to NormanBryson (1981) induces one to read an image as “realistic” representation rather than as sign.BibliographyI. Primary SourcesAtwood, Margaret. “This Is a Photograph of Me.” Mandel ed., 85Atwood, Margaret. The Journals of Susanna Moodie. Toronto: OUP, 1970.Atwood, Margaret ed. The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English. Toronto: OUP, 1982.Avison, Margaret. “Perspective.” Gustafson ed., 219f.Campbell, Wilfred. “The Winter Lakes.” Atwood ed., 40.Carman, Bliss. “Morning in the Hills.” Atwood ed., 45Goldsmith, Oliver. “The Rising Village.” Sinclair ed., 2-14.22