A Chronology of Lampmans Poems
by L.R. Early
Since developing an interest in Archibald Lampman some years ago, I
have become increasingly aware of the problem presented to his interpreters by our
circumscribed knowledge of the dates at which his poems were written. Many of these dates
are determinable, but have remained buried in the Lampman manuscripts held at various
locations. Beginning with Carl Y. Connor in the 1920s, scholars have made use of these
papers, but seldom in a systematic way.1
Lacking sufficient information about the dates of composition, most critics have either
limited their study to a few poems, or viewed the poetry as a spatial configuration, with
little reference to the sequence of composition and what it might reveal of the
poets changing art. Neither strategy will give us a really comprehensive sense of
Lampmans work, which was as subject to the temporal order of things as was his life.
The tension between a spatial aesthetic and a nervous awareness of time is fundamental
both to Lampmans most characteristic poems and to the evolution of his poetry as a
whole.
I have tried to ascertain dates of composition for all of
Lampmans poems which, to my knowledge, have appeared in print. Drafts of most of
these exist in manuscript, where they are interspersed with unpublished work in various
stages of abandonment or completion. Of a grand total of 353 published poems, more than
two thirds appear, undated, in The Poems of Archibald Lampman (1900), edited by
Duncan Campbell Scott after the poets death in 1899. This collection reprints the
contents of Among the Millet (1888), Lyrics of Earth (1895), and
Alcyone (1899), and adds over one hundred more poems. Like Lampman, Scott favoured a
generic arrangement, and observed chronology only in grouping the three earlier volumes in
consecutive order. Of Lampmans more recently published work, forty-one new poems
appeared in At the Long Sault (1943), edited by Scott and E.K. Brown, and
twenty-eight were edited by Margaret Coulby Whitridge in Lampmans Kate: Late
Love Poems of Archibald Lampman (1975). In addition, fourteen previously unpublished
or uncollected pieces are included in Lampmans Sonnets 1884-1899 (1976),
also edited by Whitridge, and twenty-five fugitive poems, assembled by myself, appear in Canadian
Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews, No. 12 (1983), pp. 46-70. In these later
selections, the dates of composition are usually, though not always (or always properly),
specified. In the interest of greater precision and convenience, then, I have prepared
this comprehensive chronology, based upon a recent examination of sources.
These sources consist primarily of
Lampmans rough notebooks, held in the Public Archives of Canada, and his finished
manuscripts, dispersed in four main locations: the Public Archives, the Library of
Parliament, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, and Simon
Fraser University.2 These sources yield
dates, more or less specific as to day and month, subscribed in Lampmans hand, for
about two thirds of the poems in question. Many others in the notebooks may be assigned
dates on the basis of their proximity to dated work. In some instances, Lampmans
correspondence helps to establish or confirm the point at which a poem was written.3 Sometimes internal evidence is also helpful:
Lampmans favourite subject was the seasons, and as his dated work shows that he
usually wrote about them in season, we can infer approximate dates for some such
poems within a given year. In more uncertain cases there are three less satisfactory
approaches. We can look at the proximity of undated to dated work in Lampmans
finished manuscript volumes, which are organized in loose sometimes very loose
chronological fashion. We can consider form; for instance, it helps to know that
Lampman tended to write his sonnets in bursts. And we can take into account the earliest
date of publication, whether in periodicals or in Lampmans first three volumes while
bearing in mind that often years passed before Lampmans poems saw print. While each
of these latter criteria is a poor guide in itself, in combination they can provide strong
circumstantial evidence.
I have listed the poems chronologically, rather than
alphabetically by title, because this method allows me to show where poems for which dates
are approximate or conjectural probably fit into the sequence. Also, if a principal use of
this information is to reveal Lampmans preoccupation at a given time, or his
imaginative development over an extended period, or perhaps his most fertile year, then a
chronology is the more convenient arrangement. For each entry I give (1) the title of the
poem; (2) the date of composition, so far as determinable; (3) the most accessible place
of publication, with page number.4 For
the purpose of showing Lampmans own selections for the early volumes, I indicate the
publication of poems in Among the Millet, Lyrics of Earth, and Alcyone, while
citing their location in Scotts inclusive edition of 1900. Abbreviations used in the
Location column are:
AM Among the Millet (1888)
LE Lyrics of Earth
(1895)
A Alcyone (1899)
PAL The Poems of Archibald
Lampman (1900)
ALS At the Long Sault and Other New Poems (1943)
LK Lampmans Kate: Late Love Poems of
Archibald Lampman
(1975)
LS Lampmans Sonnets 1884-1899 (1976)
CP Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reuiews,
No. 12
(1983)
Titles of poems are given as they appear in these places, and the first lines are
provided of poems which have common or similar titles.
The dates assigned to the poems are qualified as follows:
Nov. 1889 |
a date as recorded by Lampman himself. |
c. Nov. 1889 |
a date determined from the poems location(s) in
Lampmans rough notebooks, or from references in his correspondence. |
Nov. 1889? |
a date conjectured from the poems Iocation(s) in the finished
manuscript volumes, or from other circumstantial evidence. |
Sometimes the manuscripts specify different dates for various
drafts of the same poem. For the purpose of this chronology, I enter long poems composed
over long periods (e.g. Winter-Store) under the latest date, as the date of
completion. But on the premise that for lyrics, the date of conception is more
significant, I enter shorter poems (e.g. April in the Hills) according to the
date of the earliest substantial version. Explanatory notes are provided in several
especially complex or unusual cases. I realize that this procedure begs certain textual
questions, but until a definitive edition of Lampmans poetry makes available all the
details concerning variants and revision, this chronology may help us to refine our
estimates of the poet and his work.
Chronology of Lampmans Poems
1881-May 1884
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
Verses |
1881-82? |
CP, p. 49 |
The Last Sortie |
c. May 1882 |
CP, p. 49 |
Derelict |
c. Aug 1882 |
CP, p. 50 |
Winter
Evening
(Westward the sunset is waning slow) |
22 Jan 1883 |
CP, p. 51 |
Winters Nap |
1 Feb 1883 |
CP, p. 52 |
Hope and Fear |
10 Feb 1883 |
CP, p. 53 |
Spring on the River |
Apr 1883 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 10 |
Godspeed to the Snow |
Apr 1883 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 126 |
The Hepatica
(What faint sweet song) |
Jun 1883 |
CP, p. 54 |
The Weaver |
Jun 1883 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 57 |
An August Warning |
Aug 1883 |
CP, p. 55 |
The Coming of Winter |
Sep 1883 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 62 |
Three Flower Petals |
22 Sep 1883 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 43 |
An October Sunset |
6 Oct 1883 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 6 |
Ballade of Summers Sleep |
Oct 1883 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 23 |
A Fantasy |
Oct 1883 |
CP, p. 56 |
A January Sunset |
1884 |
LS, p. 8 |
Flight of Dreams |
c. Feb 1884 |
LS, p. 1 |
One Day |
Feb 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
41 |
Love and Death |
c. 1884 |
LS, p. 10 |
Maytime |
1884 |
LS, p. 9 |
April |
May 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 4 |
The Growth of Love VI-1 |
May 1884 |
ALS, p. 39 |
The Growth of Love VI-2 |
May 1884 |
ALS, p. 40 |
[Menu]
June 1884-May 1885
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
Song of the Stream Drops |
Jun 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 35 |
Bird Voices |
Jun 1884 |
PAL, p. 321 |
The Organist |
31 Aug 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 71 |
The Little Handmaiden |
1 Sep 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 52 |
Why Do Ye Call the Poet Lonely? |
7 Sep 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
11 |
The Childs Music Lesson |
7 Sep 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 88 |
Unrest |
21 Sep 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
40 |
What Do Poets Want with Gold? |
24 Sep 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 50 |
The Usurer |
c.1884 |
ALS, p. 18 |
In October5 |
Oct 1883-Oct 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
21 |
Sleep
(If any man, . . .) |
Oct 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
42 |
Love-Doubt
or The Growth of Love I |
29 Oct 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 104; ALS, p. 37 |
The Growth of Love III |
Oct 1884 |
ALS, p. 38 |
The Kings Sabbath |
3 Nov 1884 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
51 |
The Growth of Love VIII |
Dec 1884 |
ALS, p. 41 |
Perfect
Love or The Growth of Love XI |
1884-85? |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
105; ALS, p. 42 |
Love-Wonder
or The Growth of Love X |
1884-85? |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
106; ALS, p. 42 |
The Growth of Love V |
Jan 1885 |
ALS, p. 39 |
The Growth of Love IX |
Feb 1885 |
ALS, p. 41 |
The Growth of Love II |
Feb 1885 |
ALS, p. 37 |
The Three Pilgrims |
4 Apr 1885 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 59 |
Winter |
10 Apr 1885 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 24 |
Abu Midjan |
Apr 1885 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 54 |
A Ballade of Waiting |
May 1885 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 45 |
The Growth of Love IV |
May 1885 |
ALS, p. 38 |
[Menu]
August 1885 - June 1887
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
Among the Timothy |
5 Aug 1885 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
13 |
Among the Millet |
1885? |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 3 |
The Growth of Love VII |
13 Aug 1885 |
ALS, p. 40 |
An Impression |
1885? |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 10 |
A Song
(O night and sleep,) |
1885? |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
48 |
Before Sleep |
Dec 1885 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
46 |
Passion
(As a weed beneath the ocean) |
1885-86? |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 44 |
Midnight |
Feb 1886 |
AM ( 1888), PAL, p.
34 |
Storm |
Mar 1886 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 30 |
Morning on the Lièvre |
2 Jun 1886 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
19 |
Between the Rapids |
Jun 1886 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
36 |
Song
(Songs that could span the earth,) |
1886? |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
40 |
Lament of the Winds |
c. 1886 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
22 |
Easter Eve |
Dec 1886 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 63 |
The Monk |
Dec 1886 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
75 |
New
Years Eve [I]
(Once on the years last eve. . .) |
Jan 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 39 |
Music II
(I see thy fingers move. . .) |
c. 1887 |
LS, p. 33 |
March |
Mar 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 119 |
The Dog |
Mar 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
121 |
Sight |
May 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
110 |
Knowledge |
May 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 110 |
The Frogs |
May 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
7 |
Estrangement |
c. 1887 |
ALS, p. 22 |
The Loons |
c. 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 119 |
A Forecast |
Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
116 |
[Menu]
June 1887 (contd) - January 1888
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
Freedom |
Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 17 |
The Poets |
Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
113 |
Gentlemen |
Jun 1887 |
LS, p. 27 |
Silence! |
c. Jun 1887 |
LK, p. 27 |
The Martyrs |
c. Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
115 |
A Prayer |
Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
109 |
She . . . A Fragment |
c. Jun 1887 |
LK, p. 38 |
The Truth |
Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 114 |
Deeds |
c. Jun 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
112 |
The Faithful Lover |
c. 1887 |
LK, p. 26 |
Aspiration |
c. 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 113 |
The Railway Station |
c. 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 116 |
The
City
(Beyond the dusky cornfields, . . .) |
c. 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 118 |
An Old Lesson from the Fields |
c. 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 111 |
The Power of Music |
c. 1887 |
ALS, p. 32 |
Heat |
Jul 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
12 |
Midsummer Night |
Aug 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
118 |
Autumn Maples |
c. 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 120 |
New
Years Eve [II]
(And all that strange unearthly multitude) |
Nov 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
39 |
A Night of Storm |
Nov 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
115 |
Music
(Move on, light hands) |
Nov 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 109 |
In
November
(The hills and leafless forests slowly yield) |
Nov 1887 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
117 |
Comfort |
6 Jan 1888 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 106 |
Despondency |
20 Jan 1888 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
107 |
Winter-Thought |
c. 1888 |
AM (1888), PAL, p.
112 |
[Menu]
June 1889 - September 1889
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
Winter Hues Recalled |
c. 1888 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 27 |
Outlook |
c. 1888 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 107 |
April Night |
c. 1888 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 185 |
Gentleness |
1888? |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 108 |
Solitude |
c. 1888 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 120 |
An Athenian Reverie |
c. 1885-88 |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 90 |
To My Wife |
1888? |
AM (1888), PAL,
p. 1 |
The City
(Canst thou not rest, O city,) |
1888 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
215 |
The Sun Cup |
c. 1888-89 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
173 |
Emancipation |
c. 1888-89 |
CP, p. 56 |
A January Morning |
1889? |
PAL, p. 286 |
A Morning Summons |
1889? |
PAL, p. 255 |
April Voices |
c. 1889 |
PAL, p. 257 |
Music
(O take the lute. . .) |
c. 1889 |
PAL, p. 260 |
After Rain |
c. 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
144 |
Drought |
c. 1889 |
PAL, p. 317 |
Evening |
c. 1889 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
198 |
To the Cricket |
c. 1889 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
193 |
Dead Cities I |
c. 1889 |
PAL, p. 269 |
Across the Pea-fields |
Jun 1889 |
PAL, p. 262 |
Sebastian |
Jul 1889 |
CP, p. 57 |
Comfort of the Fields |
Jul 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
148 |
Reality |
Aug 1889 |
LS, p. 61 |
To an Ultra Protestant |
Sep 1889 |
PAL, p. 285 |
The Moon-Path |
Sep 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 146 |
[Menu]
September 1889 (contd) - February 1890
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
The Cup of Life |
Sep 1889 |
PAL, p. 280 |
A Niagara Landscape |
Sep 1889 |
PAL, p. 272 |
How dealt the world |
Sep 1889 |
CP, p. 59 |
Among the Orchards |
Sep 1889 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 210 |
Goldenrod |
Sep 1889 |
PAL, p. 292 |
Fair Speech6 |
Sep 1889 |
ALS, p. 36 |
Good Speech |
Sep 1889 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 226 |
The Piano |
Sep 1889 |
PAL, p. 260 |
Life and Nature |
Sep 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 138 |
A Re-assurance |
1889? |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 15 |
In November
(With loitering step) |
Nov 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
158 |
Snowbirds |
15 Nov 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
162 |
Night |
c. Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 263 |
A Dawn on the Lièvre |
c. Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 290 |
A Winter Dawn |
c. Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 291 |
Falling Asleep |
c. Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 278 |
The Poets Possession |
c. Nov 1889 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 157 |
An Invocation |
c. Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 255 |
Avarice |
c. Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 285 |
The March of Winter |
Nov 1889 |
PAL, p. 280 |
Sunset
(From this windy bridge at rest) |
Feb 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
164 |
After Snow |
Feb 1890 |
PAL, p. 318 |
Snow |
Feb 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
162 |
Winter-Break |
Feb 1890 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
252 |
With the Night |
c. 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 139 |
[Menu]
May 1890 - October 1891
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
In March |
Mar 1890 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 179 |
The Meadow |
May 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 134 |
A Midnight Landscape |
c. May 1890 |
PAL, p. 270 |
The Better Day |
May 1890 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 226 |
In May |
Jun 1890 |
LE (1899), PAL,
p. 137 |
A Thunderstorm |
Jul 1890 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
214 |
June |
Jul 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 140 |
In Absence |
Jul 1890 |
PAL ,p. 264 |
Man and Nature |
c. 1890 |
ALS, p. 13 |
Sunset at Les Eboulements |
Aug 1890 |
PAL, p. 273 |
September |
Oct 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 154 |
At the Ferry |
Oct 1890 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 150 |
Virtue |
28 Nov 1890 |
PAL, p. 277 |
Storm Voices |
1 Dec 1890 |
PAL, p. 276 |
The Modern Politician |
1 Dec 1890 |
PAL, p. 277 |
The Sweetness of Life |
1890 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 125 |
The Poets Song7 |
[c. 1889-] 1890 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 210 |
A March Day |
Mar 1891 |
PAL, p. 289 |
Elemental Voices |
c. Mar 1891 |
CP, p. 59 |
Voices of Earth |
Mar 1891 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 218 |
Earth,
heaven, and the mighty whole |
c. 1891 |
CP, p. 59 |
The Return of the Year |
May 1891 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 129 |
Amor Vitae |
Jul 1891 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 250 |
Death
(I like to strech full-length upon my bed) |
Jul 1891 |
PAL, p. 288 |
To a Millionaire |
Oct 1891 |
PAL, p. 276 |
[Menu]
October 1891 (contd) - September 1892
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
In the City |
Oct 1891 |
PAL, p. 259 |
Before the Robin8 |
c. Oct 1891-Apr 1892 |
PAL, p. 289 |
The Ruin of the Year |
c. Oct 1891 |
PAL, p. 279 |
By the Sea |
Oct. 1891 |
PAL, p. 272 |
The Lesson
of the Trees |
c. 1891 |
CP, p. 60 |
An Autumn Landscape |
Nov 1891 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 157 |
By an Autumn Stream |
Nov 1891 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 160 |
Sleep
(Behold! I lay in prison like St. Paul) |
Dec 1891 |
LS, p. 96 |
Xenophanes |
Dec 1891 |
PAL, p. 266 |
Vision9 |
c. Jan 1892 |
CP, p. 60 |
A Forest Path in Winter |
Jan 1892 |
PAL, p. 286 |
After Mist |
Jan 1892 |
PAL, p. 287 |
April in the Hills10 |
3 Apr 1892 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 127 |
Favorites of Pan |
May 1892 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 131 |
After the Shower |
Jun 1892 |
PAL, p. 264 |
On
the Companionship with Nature |
Jun 1892 |
PAL, p. 258 |
Beauty |
c. Jun 1892 |
PAL, p. 258 |
Cloud-Break |
30 Jun 1892 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 145 |
At Dusk |
10 Jul 1892 |
PAL, p. 269 |
David and Abigail11 |
c. 1887-1892 |
PAL, p. 357 |
The City of the End of Things |
30 Jun 1892-Aug 1892 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 179 |
In the Pine Groves I |
Aug 1892 |
PAL, p. 267 |
In the Pine Groves II |
c. Aug 1892 |
PAL, p. 267 |
To the Warbling Vireo |
Aug 1892 |
PAL, p. 265 |
Sirius |
Sep 1892 |
PAL, p. 268 |
[Menu]
September 1892 (contd) - November 1893
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
The Spirit of the House |
24 Sep 1892 |
PAL, p. 257 |
With Weary Brain12 |
c. Oct 1892 |
LK, p. 28 |
The Winds Word |
Oct 1892 |
PAL, p. 320 |
Winter-Store13 |
c. 1887-1892 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 165 |
On
the Death of Tennyson
(Tonight while the grey wings of storm are spread) |
5 Oct 1892 |
ALS, p. 33 |
The Autumn Waste |
6 Oct 1892 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
228 |
The
Death of Tennyson
(They tell that when his final hour drew near) |
7 Oct 1892 |
PAL, p. 275 |
Indian Summer |
17 Nov 1892 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 225 |
The Emperors True-Love
|
17 Jan 1893 |
ALS, p. 11 |
The Frost Elves |
31 Jan 1893 |
ALS, p. 5 |
Earth The Stoic |
Feb 1893 |
PAL, p. 283 |
Winter-Solitude |
Feb 1893 |
ALS, p. 21 |
Spirit of the Shining Eyes |
c. 1893 |
LK, p. 29 |
Forest Moods |
24 May 1893 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 129 |
Inter Vias |
30 May 1893 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 183 |
Tempest14 |
c. Jun 1893 |
LK, p. 33 |
The Settlers Tale |
1 Jun 1893 |
CP, p. 60 |
The Bird and the Hour |
6 Jun 1893 |
LE (1895), PAL, p.
143 |
An Ode to the Hills |
11 Aug 1893 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 221 |
From the seer with his
snow-white crown |
c. Sep 1893 |
CP, p. 63 |
Personality |
9 Sep 1893 |
A( 1899), PAL, p.
185 |
To the Prophetic Soul |
10 Sep 1893 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 200 |
Fate |
c. Sep 1893 |
ALS, p. 24 |
I May Not Love You |
c. Oct. 1893 |
LK, p. 31 |
Alcyone |
1 Nov 1893 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 177 |
[Menu]
November 1893 (contd) - May 1894
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
To Chicago |
10 Nov 1893 |
LS, p. 118 |
To My Daughter |
18 Dec 1893 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 186 |
Epitaph on a Rich Man |
18 Dec 1893 |
ALS, p. l9 |
Love |
c. Dec 1893 |
PAL, p. 282 |
The Woodcutters Hut |
29 Dec 1893 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 247 |
The Clearer Self |
Jan 1894 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. l99 |
Magic |
c. Jan 1894 |
LK, p. 32 |
Peccavi, Domine |
20 Feb 1894 |
A(1899), PAL, p.
219 |
Loneliness |
c. Feb 1894 |
ALS, p. 26 |
Would You Care? |
Feb 1894 |
LK, p. 37 |
The True Life |
2 Mar 1894 |
ALS, p. 35 |
Ottawa |
Mar 1894 |
ALS, p. 20 |
The Story of an Affinity15 |
[c. Nov 1892-] Apr 1894 |
PAL, p. 409 |
Patriotism |
c. Apr 1894 |
LS, p.123 |
A la Patrie |
c. Apr 1894 |
LS, p.122 |
The Song Sparrow |
28 Apr 1894 |
A (1899), PAL,
p.182 |
To a Flower |
30 Apr 1894 |
PAL, p. 309 |
May |
3 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 261 |
Euphrone |
4 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 261 |
Nesting Time |
4 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 256 |
The Pilot |
5 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 273 |
A Smile |
7 May 1894 |
LK, p. 30 |
Salvation |
9 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 263 |
Stoic and Hedonist |
12 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 284 |
Thamyris |
18 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 274 |
[Menu]
May 1894 (contd) - March 1895
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
The Passing of the Spirit |
27 May 1894 |
PAL, p. 266 |
White Pansies |
Aug 1894 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 227 |
We Too Shall Sleep |
Aug 1894 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 228 |
In Beechwood Cemetery |
17 Aug 1894 |
PAL, p. 288 |
The Vain Fight |
c. Aug 1894 |
PAL, p. 283 |
To
Death
(Methought in dreams I saw my little son ) |
20 Aug 1894 |
PAL, p. 282 |
The Largest Life I |
Aug 1894 |
PAL, p. 300 |
Paternity |
c. 1894 |
PAL, p. 310 |
Chione |
Oct 1894 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 187 |
To Chaucer |
27 Oct 1894 |
PAL, p. 271 |
Distance |
c. 1894 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 143 |
Vivia Perpetua |
21 Dec 1894 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 229 |
War |
8 Feb 1895 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 243 |
Wind and World |
12 Feb 1895 |
CP, p. 63 |
Essential Grace |
c. Feb 1895 |
LK, p. 34 |
The Islet and the Palm |
5 Mar 1895 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 194 |
Dead Cities II |
8 Mar 1895 |
PAL, p. 270 |
Ingvi and Alf |
17 Mar 1895 |
PAL, p. 348 |
Man |
c. 1895 |
LK, p. 38 |
The Cloud Fleet |
c. 1895 |
CP, p. 64 |
The Mystery of a Year |
1895? |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 242 |
Refuge16 |
1895? |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 184 |
The Choice17 |
c. 1895 |
ALS, p. 17 |
Impromptu |
c. 1895 |
CP, p. 64 |
Vanity |
c. 1895 |
LK, p. 35 |
[Menu]
September 1895 - July 1896
Title of poem
Date
of composition
Location
A Vision of Twilight |
19 Sep 1895 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
195 |
To My Mother |
Oct 1895 |
LE (1895), PAL,
p. 123 |
Sapphics |
14 Oct 1895 |
A (1899), PAL,
p. 217 |
The Virgin Spirit |
15 Oct 1895 |
LK, p. 36 |
Sorrow
(At last I fell asleep) |
19 Oct 1895 |
PAL, p. 281 |
Cloud and Sun |
c. Oct 1895 |
ALS, p. 25 |
A Portrait in Six Sonnets III |
c. 1895 |
ALS, p. 44 |
A Portrait in Six Sonnets V |
10 Nov 1895 |
ALS, p. 45 |
A Vision of April |
28 Dec 1895 |
ALS, p. 8 |
Memories |
c. Jan 1896 |
LK, p. 39 |
Passion
(As slowly on a mountain slope toward spring) |
30 Jan 1896 |
PAL, p. 279 |
The Land of Pallas18 |
c. Aug 1891-Feb 1896 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
201 |
Phokaia |
11 Feb 1896 |
PAL, p. 328 |
Sostratus |
15 Feb 1896 |
PAL, p. 327 |
The Song of Pan |
23 Feb 1896 |
A (1899), PAL, p.
193 |
Peace |
27 Feb 1896 |
PAL, p. 310 |
In a Copy of Miss
Wetheralds
House of the Trees |
2 Mar 1896 |
CP, p. 64 |
Poem |
4 Mar 1896 |
LK, p. 40 |
There was once a man |
Mar 1896 |
CP, p. 65 |
A May Song |
13 Apr 1896 |
CP, p. 65 |
Spring Promise |
14 Apr 1896 |
LK, p. 46 |
From an Idle Poem-Maker |
c. Apr 1896 |
LK, p. 25 |
Ambition |
1 May 1896 |
PAL, p. 295 |
A Summer Evening |
14 Jul 1896 |
PAL, p. 298 |
To Me in My Unworthiness |
1896? |
LK, p. 42 |
[Menu]
July 1896 (contd) - January 1897
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
A Portrait in Six Sonnets I |
17 Jul 1896 |
ALS, p. 43 |
A Portrait in Six Sonnets II |
28 Jul 1896 |
ALS, p. 43 |
Sorrow
(In the morning early) |
6 Aug 1896 |
PAL, p. 309 |
My Lady |
c. 1896 |
LK, p. 43 |
A Portrait in Six Sonnets VI |
c. 1896 |
ALS, p. 45 |
A Summer Figure |
c. 1896 |
LK, p. 48 |
A Summer Dream |
c. 1896 |
LK, p. 41 |
Crete I |
Sep 1896 |
ALS, p. 30 |
Crete II |
c. Sep 1896 |
ALS, p. 30 |
Crete III |
14 Oct 1896 |
ALS, p. 31 |
I kept the pure and glassy
floors |
1896? |
PAL, p. 303 |
The Minstrel |
25 Oct 1896 |
PAL, p. 305 |
Old Indeed are You |
1896? |
LK, p. 47 |
Temagami |
24 Nov 1896 |
PAL, p. 292 |
Night in the Wilderness |
24 Nov 1896 |
PAL, p. 294 |
On Lake Temiscamingue |
25 Nov 1896 |
PAL, p. 293 |
The Violinist |
5 Dec 1896 |
PAL, p. 345 |
King Oswalds Feast |
17 Dec 1896 |
PAL, p. 325 |
A Spanish Taunt |
18 Dec 1896 |
PAL, p. 344 |
The Largest Life II |
29 Dec 1896 |
PAL, p. 300 |
In the Wilds |
4 Jan 1897 |
PAL, p. 294 |
The Largest Life III |
16 Jan 1897 |
PAL, p. 301 |
Strife and Freedom |
1897? |
PAL, p. 312 |
True Passion |
1897? |
LK, p. 44 |
One Woman |
c. 1897 |
LK, p. 45 |
[Menu]
August 1897 - Jan. 1899
Title of poem |
Date of composition |
Location |
|
|
|
Far Apart |
c. 1897 |
LK, p. 52 |
Gold and Dross |
c. 1897 |
LK, p. 51 |
Kindred Spirits |
c. 1897 |
LK, p. 50 |
Yarrow |
8 Aug 1897 |
PAL, p. 308 |
An Invitation to the Woods |
Sep 1897 |
CP, p. 65 |
The Lake in the Forest |
Sep 1897? |
PAL, p. 313 |
The Vase of Ibn Mokbil |
1 Oct 1897 |
PAL, p. 336 |
Baki |
c. Oct 1897 |
PAL, p. 340 |
The Passing of Autumn |
3 Oct 1897 |
PAL, p. 312 |
Persistence |
c. 1897 |
ALS, p. 23 |
New Years Eve19
(Yonder through the darkness surging) |
c. Dec 1895-Dec 1897 |
ALS, p. 15 |
Liberty |
1 Jan 1898 |
ALS, p. 28 |
The Old House |
18 Mar 1898 |
PAL, p. 321 |
The Robin |
12 Apr 1898 |
LS, p. 175 |
To
the Ottawa River
(O slave, whom many a cunning master drills) |
16 Apr 1898 |
PAL, p. 297 |
Hepaticas
(The trees to their innermost marrow) |
Apr 1898? |
PAL, p. 321 |
The Passing of Spring |
21 Apr 1898 |
PAL, p. 296 |
Uplifting |
28 Apr 1898 |
PAL, p. 290 |
Mans Future |
1 May 1898 |
ALS, p. 34 |
To
the Ottawa
(Dear dark-brown waters
full of all the stain) |
5 Aug 1898 |
PAL, p. 297 |
Wayagamack |
29-30 Aug 1898 |
PAL, p. 298 |
The Sunset
(Worshipped no more by lips that praise or pray) |
18 Nov 1898 |
LS, p. 172 |
The Winter Stars |
19 Nov 1898 |
PAL, p. 295 |
Last Child |
5 Dec 1898 |
LS, p. 174 |
At the Long Sault:
May, 1660 |
c. Aug 1898-Jan 1899 |
ALS, p. 1 |
Even Beyond Music |
c. Jan 1899 |
ALS, p. 27 |
A Portrait in Six Sonnets IV |
29 Jan 1899 |
ALS, p. 44 |
Winter Uplands |
29-30 Jan 1899 |
PAL, p. 299 |
Notes
Carl Y. Connor, Archibald Lampman: Canadian Poet of Nature (1929;
Ottawa: Borealis, 1977).[back]
For detailed information, see Margaret Coulby Whitridge,
The Lampman Manuscripts A Brief Guide, in The Lampman Symposium,
ed. Lorraine McMullen (Ottawa: Univ. of Ottawa Press, 1976), pp. 131-36.[back]
See An Annotated Edition of the Correspondence Between
Archibald Lampman and Edward William Thomson (1890-1898), ed. Helen Lynn (Ottawa:
Tecumseh, 1980); and unpublished correspondence in the manuscript collections listed in
Whitridge, cited above.[back]
For information on the periodical publication of Lampmans
work, see George Wicken, Archibald Lampman: An Annotated Bibliography, in The
Annotated Bibliography of Canadas Major Authors, ed. Robert Lecker and Jack
David, II (Downsview, Ont.: ECW, 1980), 104-12.[back]
In October: dated Oct. 1883 in Library of Parliament
MS. PS 8473 /A 56/A 6, Miscellaneous Poems, fol. 18; but dated Oct. 1884 and titled
October in an initialled ms, Fisher Library, Univ. of Toronto. Lampman sent
the latter copy to a friend, explaining in the accompanying letter that the first
two stanzas were made last October, the two last, this one (To May Blackstock
McKeggie, n.d., ALS, microfilm copy in Trinity College Archives, Toronto). [back]
Fair Speech: this irregular sonnet was first
published as a whole in ALS; however, the sestet had appeared independently as
Good Speech in Youths Companion, 25 May 1893, p. 264, and was
also included in Alcyone in 1899. [back]
The Poets Song: dated 1890 in a fair copy,
Univ. of Toronto, Fisher Library MS. 5058, fol. 128, in a broken chronological sequence
suggesting a date late in that year; however, an undated draft exists adjacent to poems
written in the Spring of 1889, in P.A.C. Notebook 1, MS, inversed pp. 1335-33 (this and
all other notebooks cited are in the Lampman Papers, MG 29 D59, Public Archives of Canada,
Ottawa).[back]
Before the Robin: undated and untitled drafts appear
with poems of Oct. 1891 in P.A.C. Notebook 9, MS, pp. 1960, 1963, however, there is a
further draft titled Before the Robin, with the cancelled title The Dawn
of Spring, later in the same scribbler, p. 1996, with poems of April 1892. Perhaps
Lampman conceived this sonnet as an autumn poem, but six months later, in an unusual
change of mind, decided that it was properly a Spring poem after all.[back]
Vision: this poem is signed L. in
At the Mermaid Inn, The Globe LToronto], 19 Nov. 1892, p. 8, rpt. in At
the Mermaid Inn: Wilfred Campbell, Archibald Lampman, Duncan Campbell Scott in The
Globe 1892-93, introd. Barrie Davies (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1979), pp.
191-92. In a slightly reorganized form, beginning Subtly conscious, all awake,
the three stanzas which compose Vision became the opening section of
Winter-Store, LE (1895), PAL, pp. 165-66.[back]
April in the Hills: stanzas 1-4 are dated 3 April
1892, Fisher MS., fol. 130 stanzas 4 (revised) and 5 are entered overleaf, dated 19 April
1895. The earlier version of four stanzas was published in Youths Companion, 13
April 1893, p. 190; the revised and extended version of five stanzas appears in LE.[back]
David and Abigail: references in Lampmans
letters to Thomson suggest that this lengthy verse drama was largely constructed during
the 1880s, then taken up, refinished, and polished in 1891-92 (Correspondence, pp.
19, 22, 25, 46, 115, 119).[back]
With Weary Brain: these stanzas, from a small bound
notebook, Manuscript Poems and Notes 1894-1899, p. 954, Lampman Papers, Vol. 2, P.A.C.,
were edited and given their title by Whitridge in LK; however, they are clearly
an initial draft for The Winds Word, dated Oct. 1892 in P.A.C. Notebook
9, MS, p.2035, and first published in the Independent, 26 July 1894, p. 1.[back]
Winter-Store: undated fragments of the middle section
of this work appear with drafts of poems written as early as mid-1887 (P.A.C. Notebook 16,
MS, inv. pp. 2714-12); other parts of the poem emerge in notebooks of 1888, 1889, and
1892, as well as in Fisher MS. fols.57-65 (dated Dec. 1889). The last section ofthe poem
as published inLE (11. 193-236), was evidently also the last written, in early Oct. 1892
(P.A.C. Notebook 9, MS, pp. 2036-38).[back]
Tempest: this Iyric, edited by Whitridge
in LK, is cobbled of two draft fragments from P.A.C. MS Poems and Notes
1894-1899, pp. 973-74; the lines properly belong to The Settlers Tale,
dated 1 June 1893 in 1893-1897 MS. Book, fol. 9, Lampman Collection Simon Fraser Univ.
Library. The Settlers Tale was eventually edited by D.C. Scott for the Canadian
Magazine, 42 (Dec. 1913), 113-16.[back]
The Story of an Affinity: dated April 1894 on a
card in the fair copy, Lib. of Parl. MS. PS 8473 /A56 /S8. Remarks in Lampmans
letters indicate that this small novel in blank verse, his longest poem, was
begun c. Nov. 1892. See Correspondence, pp. 50, 55, 58, 76, 81, 103, 106, 119;
and Archibald Lampman, Letter to Isabelle Lampman Voorhis, 3 Mar. 1894, ALS, Simon Fraser
Univ. Collection. In her notes to the Lampman-Thomson correspondence, Lynn understands
Lampmans allusions to his long tale, in letters of 2 Feb. 1894 and 28
Feb. 1894 (pp. 103, 106), to mean David and Abigail"; but both the immediate
context of these allusions and their place in the larger sequence of references strongly
suggest that Lampman meant The Story of an Affinity, which he finished in
April 1894, about the same time that he sent copies of David and Abigail and
Lisa, both written much earlier, to Thomson for an opinion (see Correspondence,
pp.46, 115-20).[back]
Refuge: this little poem leaves me more doubtful than
any other of its proper place in the chronology. Its location in the most orderly of
Lampmans finished manuscript volumes, Simon Fraser MS. Book, fol. 53, points to a
date c. March-April 1894; but its location in one of his more disorderly notebooks, P.A.C.
MS Poems and Notes 1894-1899, p. 994, points tenuously to 1895. I prefer the latter, on
the general principle that the notebooks are more authoritative for determining dates, and
on the circumstantial evidence that Refuge is a Summer poem. There is also a
letter to Thomson, 25 June 1895, which records precisely the experience expressed in the
Iyric (Correspondence, p. 146).[back]
The Choice: an undated draft of this eight-line credo
(given its title by Scott and Brown in ALS) appears with poems of the Summer or
Autumn of 1895 in P.A.C. Notebook 15, MS, inv. p. 2556. Later Lampman revised and expanded
it to form the sonnet Ambition, dated 1 May 1896 in P.A.C. MS Poems and Notes
1894-1899, p. 999.[back]
The Land of Pallas: Lampmans original version,
dated Aug. 1891 and titled The Happy Land in Fisher MS., fols. 103-11, lacks
the final four stanzas of the poem as published in Alcyone, and ends with the
speaker baffled and dejected, having permanently lost his way to Utopia:
Then I returned upon my footsteps, madly guessing,
And many a day thereafter with feet sad and sore
I sought to win me back into that land of blessing,
But I had lost the way, nor could I find it more.
A draft of the final four stanzas of the published version, which ends
more optimistically, appears in P.A.C. Notebook 15, MS, inv. p. 2522, adjacent to poems of
early 1896.[back]
New Years Eve: an undated, very rough draft
appears with poems of late Dec. 1895 in P.A.C. Notebook 15, MS, inv. pp. 2530-29, and
another undated but more advanced draft with poems of late Dec. 1897 in P.A.C. Notebook
13, MS, pp. 2338-39. There is also an undated autograph copy in the Lampman Papers, Vol.
2, P.A.C. Lampman seems to have conceived the poem for New Years 1896, and reworked
it two years later for New Years 1898.[back]
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