Lecture the theme: the romantic age in english literature (1780-1830). Representatives of romanticism

Sir Walter Scott

(1771 - 1832)



Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish romantic writer, the first great writer of historical novels. He was born in Edinburgh on August 15, 1771. His father was an Edinburgh lawyer and had a large family. Walter, the future writer, was the ninth of his twelve children. When not yet two years old, the boy fell ill with a disease that left him lame. His parents thought country air would be good for him and sent him to his grandparents’ farm. It was a place with hills, crags and ruined tower. Walter soon became a strong boy. In spite of his lameness he climbed the hills and rode his pony at a gallop. Walter’s grandparents told him thrilling Scottish tales. He learned to love the solemn history of Scotland and liked to recite Scottish ballads and poems.
Scott enjoyed taking trips into the Scottish countryside. These trips gave him profound knowledge of the life of rural people, and provided material for his first major publication, “Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border” (1802-1803). This book was a collection of popular songs and ballads and consisted of three volumes.
At the suggestion of his father, Scott became a lawyer and practiced for fourteen years. During his business trips he visited the places of famous battles and collected old ballads. Like many writers belonging to the Romantic trend, Scott, too, felt that all the good days were gone. He wished to record all the historical facts he knew before they were forgotten.
At the age of 26 Scott married, and bought a large estate not far from Edinburgh. There Scott built a fine house in the style of a castle. His house became a sort of museum of Scottish history and culture.
In 1805 he began to publish his own romantic poems, which attracted the attention of the reading public. The best were “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” (1805), “Marmion” (1808) and “The Lady of the Lake” (1810). These poems reproduce old legends and combine them with historical material. They were written with great poetic skill and poet became very famous. But when Byron’s wonderful poems appeared, Scott, to quote his own words, “left the field of poetry to his rival ” who by that time was already a friend of his. He took to writing novels. It marked a new period in Scott’s creative work. He declined the honour of poet-laureate in 1813 because he understood that writing official verses and odes on the birthdays of members of the royal family would interfere with his creative work.
In 1814 Scott published his “Waverley, or ‘Tis Sixty Years Since”. This novel describes a Scottish rebellian against England in 1745. As he had an established reputation as a poet, Scott decided to print his first novel anonymously. The book was a great success, and everybody wanted to know who the author was. Scott published many of his novels under the name of “The Author of Waverley”. During the next seventeen years (1815 - 1832) Scott wrote more than 27 other novels, four plays and many stories and tales besides. All of his novels were referred to as part of the Waverley series, because the author was identified on the title page as “The Author of Waverley”. Scott’s authorship was officially revealed in 1827, but it had been known for years.
Despite his success and fame, Scott’s last years were sad. They were marked by illness and financial difficulties brought on by the failure of a publishing company in which he had an interest. At that time his health was broken down. His doctors sent him to Italy; but it was too late. Before reaching Italy he had to turn back, and on his arrival at his estate he died.
Literary critics divide Scott’s works into three groups: