ure time to explore his surroundings and at the same time explore his literary work. It has been said of Lampman's work that "such strong imagery produces a powerful effect on the mind of the reader. It peoples woods and meadows for [them] with a life that is almost human, and interests [them] to fascination. It compels [the reader] to habits of close observation and awakens within him something of the ardor which stimulates the poet in his constant quest of beauty"(Barry 13). Lampman's poetry directs the readers to what he is seeing. His imagery can conjure the scene like a dream in our minds. Lampman's poetry has a preoccupation with dreams and reverie. Landscaping for him was a way of exploring consciousness: the aesthetic, moral, mythical, and religious aspects of human existence, of Canadian existence. Nature poetry had been one of the dominant genres for nearly a century and a half, and by the 1890's many critics were tired of it. Therefore while Lampman was alive, his popularity as a poet had not yet reached its full potential. However, Lampman's skill as a naturistic poet allows us to experience his poetry not just to read it. His poems are of a "natural description and those in which he communicated and recreates his own response to countryside, have stood the test of time"(Keith 22). Lampman's poetry is fundamentally emotional and retrospective on one hand, and on the other it is intellectual and progressive. His intellectual position tended to be idealistic and austere. While Lampman's poetry can be accused of being limited in range, it is notable for its descriptive precision and emotional restraint. Lampman wanted very much to affirm the sweetness of life and the virtue of hope unfortunately his circumstances often made that difficult. Poor health, financial worries, the death of a son, and an especially painful extramarital attachment to fellow postal worker Kate, as we find out in the 1940's after the publication of a boo...
