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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Barbara KorteEnglish-Canadian Perspectives of LandscapeAbstractIn relation to literature, perspective usually refers to the way in which a text'ssubject of perception views the world, depending on his/her psychological,cognitive and ideological frame of mind. However, a text may be visuallystrong, and verbal “pictures,” like visual ones, may be presented from aspecific visual perspective involving viewpoint and vanishing point(s), angleof vision, spatial depth, or perspectival distortion. This paper shows how ananalysis based on such categories is particularly pertinent to (English-Canadian) landscape poetry, where visual perspectives correspond to variousways of seeing the land.RésuméEn littérature, la notion de « perspective » renvoie à la façon dont le sujetcentral du texte envisage le monde compte tenu des divers aspects —psychologique, cognitif et idéologique — de son esprit. La qualité visuelle d'untexte peut être puissante et les « images » verbales, tout comme les imagesvisuelles, peuvent être présentées selon une perspective visuelle particulièremettant en jeu, par exemple, le point de vue, le point de fuite, l'angle de vision,la profondeur spatiale ou la distorsion de la perspective. L'auteure soulignequ'une analyse de texte se fondant sur ces catégories convient très bien à lapoésie (canadienne-anglaise) du paysage dans laquelle les perspectivesvisuelles correspondent aux diverses façons de voir les pays.Perspective is a term defined differently in a number of disciplines: art history,philosophy and literary criticism. 1 In relation to the narrative text, themetaphorical sense of perspective predominates, referring to the way in whichthe text's subject of perception (its focalizer 2 ) mentally views the world,according to his/her psychological, cognitive, and ideological frame of mind. 3It is in this sense that the notion of mental perspective will here be applied tothe poetic text. 4The visual-optical sense of perspective has suffered comparative neglect inliterary theory and criticism. 5 Images evoked through words are always lessspecific than those sketched by the painter or captured on film. However, atext's visual impact may be strong, and verbal “pictures,” like visual ones, maybe presented from a specific visual perspective involving viewpoint andvanishing point(s), angle of vision, spatial depth or perspectival distortion.International Journal of Canadian Studies / Revue internationale d'études canadiennes6, Fall/Automne 1992
IJCS/RIÉCLandscape seems most suited to an investigation of perspective, as it onlyexists as a portion of the earth perceived and apperceived in a certain way. 6Studies of environmental perception confirm that “‘[l]andscape’ ... is aconstruct of the mind” (Yi-Fu Tuan 1979: 6), the construction depending on aperson's individual disposition as well as the pervasive notions of his/hersocial and cultural environment. 7 The perception of landscape as landscapealso demands a particular outlook of the corporeal eye; it is “a view or prospectof natural inland scenery, such as can be taken in at a glance from one point ofview” (OED). The pertinence of this definition to painting is obvious, yet thesame visual criterion seems to differentiate the poetry of landscape from thepoetry of nature. In many examples of English Romantic poetry, for instance,the use of the word “landscape” is conspicuously tied to precisely localizedviewpoints, as in Wordsworth's “Tintern Abbey”: “The day is come when Iagain repose/Here, under this dark sycamore.”Landscape emerges as a subject where visual and mental perspectives coalescein an almost exemplary fashion. In Anglo-Canadian landscape poetry, visualperspectives serve as correlatives to individual as well as cultural views of theland.It is a commonplace of Canadian Studies that Canadian culture has beenshaped by the experience of the country's geography and natural world, andCanadian landscapes have been a prime subject of both Canadian painting andpoetry. Gaile McGregor's The Wacousta Syndrome (1985) is one of manystudies to define the Canadian landscape experience as one of a “beleagueredhuman psyche attempting to preserve its integrity in the face of an alien,encompassing nature” (5). McGregor cites visual perspective in Canadianlandscape painting as evidence of this view. The basic orientation in thesepaintings is an “anti-panoramic” one, with a notable tendency for indistinctbackgrounds, horizons that are “raised or hidden by features in the fore-tomiddleground,” low viewpoints, and other techniques that delimit the sense ofa painting's spatial depth (17f.).These observations can be reformulated in terms of a theory developed by theBritish geographer Jay Appleton (1975): a person's capacity to feelcomfortable in and appreciate a landscape depends on the degree to which thelandscape's hazard potential is diminished by its potential for prospect andrefuge—seeing without being seen. 8 According to Appleton, unrestrictedpanoramas and vistas constitute powerful factors of prospect (85ff.).Basically, the opportunity for prospect diminishes the environment hazard, butan excess of prospect makes for a negative experience—the surveyable landbecomes a landscape of “exposure” (151). In light of this theory, the Canadianpainters' handling of perspective (as described by McGregor) may beinterpreted as a strategy for reducing the excess of prospect that so manyCanadian landscapes present.10
Page 2 and 3: Editorial Board / Comité de rédac
Page 4 and 5: Review Essays/Essais critiquesLorna
Page 6 and 7: IJCS / RIÉCthe United States, from
Page 10 and 11: English-Canadian Perspectives of La
Page 24 and 25: IJCS/RIÉCd'Erickson nous permet de
Page 26 and 27: IJCS/RIÉCFigure 2.Arthur Erickson,
Page 28 and 29: IJCS/RIÉCthe Killam-Massey House (
Page 34 and 35: IJCS/RIÉCFigure 7.Canadian Chancer
Page 36 and 37: IJCS/RIÉCalso situationally and co
Page 38 and 39: IJCS/RIÉCthe abstract modernism of
Page 40 and 41: IJCS/RIÉCsurmounted by a massive o
Page 42 and 43: Dorothée KomTypologie des narratai
Page 44 and 45: Typologie des narrataires dans les
Page 58 and 59:
Elisabeth CencigThe Jordans:Remembe
Page 60 and 61:
The Jordans. Remembered and Invente
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Roshan G. ShahaniIn Quest of a Habi
Page 82 and 83:
Immigrant Voices from Indiapromised
Page 84 and 85:
Immigrant Voices from Indiawhich is
Page 86 and 87:
Immigrant Voices from IndiaLikewise
Page 88 and 89:
Immigrant Voices from Indiawrong re
Page 90 and 91:
Immigrant Voices from India15. Nich
Page 92 and 93:
IJCS/RIÉCreprésentatifs du Québe
Page 94 and 95:
IJCS/RIÉCUn monde isoléL’auteur
Page 96 and 97:
IJCS/RIÉCÀ force de considérer l
Page 98 and 99:
IJCS/RIÉChazard Michel qui est dev
Page 100 and 101:
IJCS/RIÉCRebutée par cet univers,
Page 102 and 103:
IJCS/RIÉCJe ne faisais plus partie
Page 104 and 105:
Karen GouldRefiguring the Mother:Qu
Page 106 and 107:
Refiguring the Mother: Quebec Women
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 116 and 117:
Ursula Mathis« La Mariouche est po
Page 118 and 119:
Les autochtones dans la chanson can
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Lorna IrvineZoning Canada’s Zeitg
Page 142 and 143:
Zoning Canada’s Zeitgeistand immi
Page 144 and 145:
Zoning Canada’s Zeitgeistpromulga
Page 146 and 147:
Zoning Canada’s Zeitgeistspeculat
Page 148 and 149:
IJCS/RIÉCLa remise en question du
Page 150 and 151:
IJCS/RIÉCmondiale a poussés à r
Page 152 and 153:
IJCS/RIÉCtexte présenté lors d
Page 154 and 155:
IJCS/RIÉCle contraire de cette ré
Page 156 and 157:
IJCS/RIÉCmétropole d’autant plu
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?