Themes & Motifs

New Brunswick writers have told many different stories in many different ways. Indeed, the province’s literature is marked by a diversity of forms, voices, subjects, and settings. As is so often the case with the literature of a particular place, however, the imaginative work of New Brunswickers has been influenced and shaped by specific social and cultural conditions. As a result, New Brunswick writers across historical eras display common themes and motifs. Some of those themes and motifs, and the frequency with which they appear, distinguish the province’s literature from that of elsewhere, thus forming the basis of a distinct literary tradition. Other themes and motifs point toward the universality of human experience, revealing commonalities and interconnections between the literatures of New Brunswick and literatures around the world. Readers will discover that the best literature is able to achieve both: express a strong sense of rootedness in place while also conveying human experiences that cut across geographic, cultural, religious, and political differences.

Below is a list of themes that feature prominently in New Brunswick literature. Under that list, in table form, is a corresponding list of works (poems and stories), authors, and modules where each theme is evident. The themes are listed alphabetically. To select a Theme, click on the theme name below to be redirected to the corresponding table.

Teachers will be especially interested in these thematic groupings, which can easily be adapted for the creation of lesson or unit plans. Teachers should also read Information for Teachers (under Resources) as a supplement to Themes & Motifs.

“A Hearth-Song” and “‘So, After All, When All is Said and Done’”	Francis Sherman	Confederation Poets
“Reflections on a Hill Behind a Town”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Old Women and Love” and “The Old in One Another’s Arms”	Kay Smith	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“On Becoming an Ancestor”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“My daughters, my wild girls”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“On Priests”	Antonine Maillet	The Acadian Renaissance
“Human Beings”	Raymond Fraser	The Literary Miramichi
“Half Past”	M. Travis Lane	Current & Contemporary Voices

“The Dead Butterfly”	Peter John Allan	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“The One Stem”	Kay Smith	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Conservation Procedures”	Robert Gibbs	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The tide defines…” and “At The Star-port”	Rose Després	The Acadian Renaissance
“Horse Chestnuts”	John Thompson	The Tantramar Revisited
“Not mine” and “Pulse”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“The Form,” “Desert Roses,” and “Winds”	Allan Cooper	The Tantramar Revisited
“This Bridge is No Bridge,” “Always,” and “The Afterlife of Trees”	Brian Bartlett	Current & Contemporary Voices

“A Son of the Sea” and “The Ships of Yule”	Bliss Carman	Confederation Poets
“Mr. McGinty’s Claw” and “The Wicked Nurse”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Autobiography”	Kay Smith	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The Silent Scream” and “The Young Girl Waits for Love”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“Britain Street”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism
“My daughters, my wild girls”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“Readings”	Herménégilde Chiasson	The Acadian Renaissance
“Tragic Youth” and “Flagging Spirit”	Raymond Fraser	The Literary Miramichi
Nights Below Station Street	David Adams Richards	The Literary Miramichi
“The Game”	Wayne Curtis	The Literary Miramichi
“Pain Was My Portion,” “Down There,” “We Walk Into Our Gowns,” and “Blowtorch Alchemy”	Elisabeth Harvor	Current & Contemporary Voices
“A Basement Tale”	Brian Bartlett	Current & Contemporary Voices
Before the Flood	Alan Wilson	Current & Contemporary Voices
“How Much?”	Lynn Davies	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Carol,” “Boat Builder,” and “Wood Stove Sunday”	Tammy Armstrong	Current & Contemporary Voices

“First Encounter with Native Peoples in Chaleur Bay”	Jacques Cartier	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
Memoirs of Odd Adventures, Strange Deliverances, etc., in the Captivity of John Gyles	John Gyles	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“Our Thirty-Ninth Wedding Day” and “Ode for the New Year”	Jonathan Odell	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
The Rising Village	Oliver Goldsmith	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor	Sally Armstrong	New Brunswick History in Fiction
“Miramichi Lightning”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Blue” and “Red”	Herménégilde Chiasson	The Acadian Renaissance
“Colonial”	M. Travis Lane	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Pain Was My Portion”	Elisabeth Harvor	Current & Contemporary Voices

“How the Wabanaki Confederacy Began”	First Nations (the Passamaquoddy)	First Nations Story
“First Encounter with Native Peoples in Chaleur Bay”	Jacques Cartier	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“House of Commons, 1934”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Tracks”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“Human Beings”	Raymond Fraser	The Literary Miramichi
Nights Below Station Street	David Adams Richards	The Literary Miramichi
“Pain Was My Portion”	Elisabeth Harvor	Current & Contemporary Voices
“A Basement Tale”	Brian Bartlett	Current & Contemporary Voices

“The Tantramar Revisited”	Charles G.D. Roberts	Confederation Poets
“Here in the East”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“River Song” and “Atlantic Development”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“They Go Off to Seek Their Fortunes”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism

“George Ernst” and “Ode to Fredericton”	Fred Cogswell	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Inheritance” and “Reasons for Reason”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“Daughter of Zion” and “Britain Street”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism
“On Lotteries” and “On Priests”	Antonine Maillet	The Acadian Renaissance
“Land-cry” and “I Am Acadian”	Raymond Guy LeBlanc	The Acadian Renaissance
“We Can’t”	Guy Arsenault	The Acadian Renaissance
“They Come Here to Die”	Raymond Fraser	The Literary Miramichi
Nights Below Station Street	David Adams Richards	The Literary Miramichi
“insight into private affairs …” and “Safe”	R.M. Vaughan	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Zombie”	Tammy Armstrong	Current & Contemporary Voices

“Ode for the New Year”	Jonathan Odell	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“The Beaver and the Maple Leaf”	Martin Butler	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“The Joys of the Open Road” and “An Autumn Song”	Bliss Carman	Confederation Poets
“Valley-Folk”	Fred Cogswell	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Desert Roses”	Allan Cooper	The Tantramar Revisited
“Poetry Night in Acadie”	Ronald Després	The Acadian Renaissance
“Land-cry”	Raymond Guy LeBlanc	The Acadian Renaissance
“We Can’t”	Guy Arsenault	The Acadian Renaissance
“Readings”	Herménégilde Chiasson	The Acadian Renaissance
“A Common Chord Echoes in Our Lives,” “Complicity,” and “Acadielove”	Gérald Leblanc	The Acadian Renaissance
“Half Past”	M. Travis Lane	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Horse Girls”	Tammy Armstrong	Current & Contemporary Voices

“When a Girl Looks Down” and “Autobiography”	Kay Smith	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The Death of My Father”	Robert Gibbs	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Thirty Below” and “Inheritance”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“It’s Good to Be Here” and “Britain Street”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism
“My daughters, my wild girls”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
Nights Below Station Street	David Adams Richards	The Literary Miramichi
“The Favourite Flies Home” and “Cold Day in August”	Elisabeth Harvor	Current & Contemporary Voices
“4 April, 1991,” “The Dinner Party,” and “Heating the House”	Anne Compton	Current & Contemporary Voices
“How Much?”	Lynn Davies	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Carol,” “Boat Builder,” and “Wood Stove Sunday”	Tammy Armstrong	Current & Contemporary Voices

“How the Mohawk War Party Was Drowned”	First Nations (the Maliseet)	First Nations Story
“How the Wabanaki Confederacy Began”	First Nations (the Passamaquoddy)	First Nations Story
“Glooscap and His Four Visitors”	First Nations (Wabanaki)	First Nations Story
“First Encounter with Native Peoples in Chaleur Bay”	Jacques Cartier	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
Memoirs of Odd Adventures, Strange Deliverances, etc., in the Captivity of John Gyles	John Gyles	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor	Sally Armstrong	New Brunswick History in Fiction
“Miramichi Lightning”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Among the Rows at 7 p.m.”	Brian Bartlett	Current & Contemporary Voices

“The Ships of Yule”	Bliss Carman	Confederation Poets
“The Wicked Nurse”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The Great Bear”	John Thompson	The Tantramar Revisited
“How was it”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“Sunflower”	Allan Cooper	The Tantramar Revisited
“Nun”	Raymond Fraser	The Literary Miramichi
“The Thing Outside”	M. Travis Lane	Current & Contemporary Voices
“We Walk Into Our Gowns”	Elisabeth Harvor	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Among the Rows at 7 p.m.” and “A Basement Tale”	Brian Bartlett	Current & Contemporary Voices
“When I Drive Down Highways” and “Songs of the Parking Lot Attendant”	Lynn Davies	Current & Contemporary Voices

“Grand Falls”	Adam Allan	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“The Dead Butterfly”	Peter John Allan	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“Sweet Maiden of Quoddy”	James De Mille	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“House of Commons, 1934”	Alfred G. Bailey	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Conservation Procedures”	Robert Gibbs	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The Red Wool Shirt”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism
“Horse Chestnuts” and “Partridge”	John Thompson	The Tantramar Revisited
“On Lotteries” and “On Priests”	Antonine Maillet	The Acadian Renaissance
“I Am Acadian”	Raymond Guy LeBlanc	The Acadian Renaissance
“Primitive sonata”	Rose Després	The Acadian Renaissance
“Acadielove”	Gérald Leblanc	The Acadian Renaissance

“There’s Not a Little Boat, Sweetheart,” “I Do Not Long for Fame,” “Three Things There Be in the World, Yvonne,” and “Low Tide on Grand Pré”	Bliss Carman	Confederation Poets
“A Song in August, “The Watch,” and “‘So, After All, When All is Said and Done’”	Francis Sherman	Confederation Poets
“When a Girl Looks Down,” “Old Women and Love,” and “The Old in One Another’s Arms”	Kay Smith	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The Water and the Rock” and “Like Two Slant Trees”	Fred Cogswell	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“The Young Girl Waits for Love”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“Britain Street” and “He Sits Down on the Floor of a School for the Retarded”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism
“January February March Et Cetera” and “Ghazal II”	John Thompson	The Tantramar Revisited
“My daughters, my wild girls”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“Time Turns to Tenderness”	Raymond Guy LeBlanc	The Acadian Renaissance
“Between The Season of Extravagant Love And The Season of Raspberries”	Herménégilde Chiasson	The Acadian Renaissance
“At The Star-port” and “Primitive sonata”	Rose Després	The Acadian Renaissance
“Complicity,” “Acadielove,” and “To Love You”	Gérald Leblanc	The Acadian Renaissance
“Seventeen Years Old”	Raymond Fraser	The Literary Miramichi
“September Morning”	Wayne Curtis	The Literary Miramichi
“The tree in winter”	Anne Compton	Current & Contemporary Voices
“Why I Fall in Love With Inaccessible Straight Boys Every Damn Time”	R.M. Vaughan	Current & Contemporary Voices

“An Evening Reverie”	Martin Butler	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“The Sower,” “The Mowing,” and “In an Old Barn”	Charles G.D. Roberts	Confederation Poets
“An Autumn Song” and “In Apple Time”	Bliss Carman	Confederation Poets
“A Road Song in May,” “A Song in August,” and “A Hearth-Song”	Francis Sherman	Confederation Poets
“A Kind of Wakefulness” and “Who Asked Me to Be a Reader of Entrails?”	Robert Gibbs	Modernism and the Fredericton Ferment
“Thirty Below”	Elizabeth Brewster	Confessional Humanism
“January February March Et Cetera”	John Thompson	The Tantramar Revisited
“Hymn to Spring”	Ronald Després	The Acadian Renaissance
“Between The Season of Extravagant Love And The Season of Raspberries”	Herménégilde Chiasson	The Acadian Renaissance
“There Are Two Rivers Here”	Wayne Curtis	The Literary Miramichi
“Property Rights, June” and “What the construction worker said”	Anne Compton	Current & Contemporary Voices

“Tracks” and “The hoe”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
Before the Flood and “Equipment Failure”	Alan Wilson	Current & Contemporary Voices
“How Much?”	Lynn Davies	Current & Contemporary Voices

“The Harp of Brunswick”	William Martin Leggett	Pre-Confederation Writers and Poets
“I Do Not Long for Fame” and “Envoy”	Bliss Carman	Confederation Poets
“An Exchange of Gifts”	Alden Nowlan	Confessional Humanism
“The Change”	John Thompson	The Tantramar Revisited
“Poet talking,” “Are you writing any …?,” and “January Sale”	Douglas Lochhead	The Tantramar Revisited
“Half Past” and “‘Tract’-able”	M. Travis Lane	Current & Contemporary Voices