(Adapted, and enlarged, from the Manual for the Study of English Classics, by George L. Marsh)

HELPS TO STUDY

Life of Scott

What prominent traits of Scott's character can be traced to his ancestors (pp. 9, 10)?

How did he regard the members of his clan, especially the chief (pp. 19, 20)?

What characteristic is represented in his refusal to learn Latin and Greek at school?

What was his own method of obtaining an education? In what did he become proficient (p. 12)?

How did he regard his legal studies? How did they benefit him in his later work?

How was he first interested in ballad-writing?

Tell of the composition, publication, and popularity of his first poems (pp. 20 ff.).

In what business venture did he become involved, and what was the final outcome? What defect in his character is it charged that his business relations brought to light (pp. 24, 25)?

Tell of the composition of his novels. Why were they published incognito?

What can you say of his last years and his struggle to pay off the debts incurred by his connection with Ballantyne?

Scott and the Romantic Movement

What is meant by the "Romantic Movement"? What four men were chiefly instrumental in bringing about this revolution in English poetry (p. 40)?

What was the influence of Scott's poetry on the age in comparison with that of his chief contemporaries? Give the reasons (p. 41).

What were the distinguishing qualities of the literature of the eighteenth century? Illustrate these by examples from Pope or any other poet that you choose from that period, and put them into contrast with the qualities of the romantic poets. Does Scott's style differ greatly from that of the poets of the preceding century?

The Lady of the Lake—Construction

Is there anything that has taken place before the opening of the poem that has to be understood for a thorough appreciation of the story (p. 46)? How are the previous fortunes of the Douglas family related (pp. 96–98)?

What purpose in the plot does the Minstrel serve throughout?

What do you think of the opening?

Does the chase serve merely to furnish an opportunity for the description?

Is the action rapid or slow? How is it often retarded?

For what are the songs introduced?

Note the transition from stanza X to XI (p. 66); from XVI to XVII (p. 71); from XXIV to XXV (p. 144); and many others.

How many cases of concealed identity are there in the poem? Does this turning of the plot on mistaken identity make it seem unreal? Show in each case where the identity is exposed and where hints have been given beforehand of the real identity.Is there any intimation of the identity of Ellen and her father in lines 565–7, page 81; lines 728–39, page 87?

What is the purpose of Fitz-James's dream (p. 86)?

What is the first hint of Ellen's love story and the name of her lover (pp. 74, 92)?

When is Roderick Dhu first mentioned (p. 96)? In what light?

Where are the relations of Ellen with Roderick and with Malcolm further discussed (p. 98)?

To whom is the reference in lines 732–34, page 116?

What action does the struggle between Roderick and Malcolm motive?

How does Canto Third advance the plot? What is its poetical value (p. 56)?

What purpose does Brian serve?

Does the prophecy (p. 157) heighten the dramatic effect of the following scene (see p. 196)?

For what are lines 138–47, page 157, a preparation (p. 168)?

What is the purpose of the Ballad of Alice Brand (pp. 162 ff.)?

What other results of Scott's early interest in ballad literature can you point out in The Lady of the Lake?

Does the warning of James by the song of mad Blanche seem improbable?

What is the purpose of the long speeches between James and Roderick in the dramatic scene following Roderick's calling of his men?

Does the combat between James and Roderick (pp. 198, 199) seem a real fight?

Why was Roderick preserved to die in the castle at Stirling?

Are lines 519–30, page 203, an artistic preparation for the following scene?How do the games in the Castle park hasten the plot to its end?

How is the fight between Clan-Alpine and the Earl of Mar described?

How much of the action takes place outside the poem and is related?

Note the use of the supernatural (p. 239). Does it seem impressive?

Is the conclusion sustained and dramatic?

Description

Are the nature descriptions given for scenic effect, or do they serve as a background and setting for the story?

Does Scott employ incidents of plot for the sake of dragging in descriptions?

Which is the best in the poem: nature description, plot construction, character, description, or the portrayal of old life and customs?

Is the descriptive language suggestive?

Are the landscape scenes given minutely, or are they drawn broadly, with a free hand?

Does Scott keep closely to the geography of the region of his tale (see map, p. 6, and note 461, p. 259)?

Perry Pictures 912–17 (from Landseer's paintings of deer) and 1511 (Ben Lomond) may be used in illustration of The Lady of the Lake.

Characters

Are the characters distinctly drawn—do they seem real people of flesh and blood?

How is Ellen's character displayed?

Do you feel any sympathy for Roderick Dhu? Does your impression of his character improve (pp. 96, 98, 99, 182, 188, 195, and 241)?Was Douglas an historical character?

Is the character of James Fitz-James true to James V of Scotland?

Is Allan-bane representative of the place in the ancient Scottish clan which the minstrel had?

THEME SUBJECTS

1. Scott's boyhood (with emphasis on the cultivation of characteristics displayed in his poems; pp. 10–12).

2. Scott as a landed proprietor (pp. 27–33). This may well take the form of an imaginary visit to Abbotsford.

3. Scott in business (pp. 23–25, 34–36). Compare his struggle against debt with Mark Twain's.

4. The historical setting of The Lady of the Lake (pp. 46–48).

5. A visit to the scene of The Lady of the Lake.

6. Summary of the action; as a whole, or by parts (cantos or other logical divisions).

7. Character sketches of Fitz-James, Roderick Dhu, Ellen, Malcolm, Douglas.

8. Highland customs reflected in the poem (pp. 129 ff., 253, 254, etc.).

9. The use of the Minstrel in the poem.

10. The interpolated lyrics—what purposes do they, respectively, serve?

11. Descriptions of scenes resembling, in one way or another, attractive scenes depicted in The Lady of the Lake.

12. Soldier life in Stirling Castle (pp. 219 ff.).

13. Contrast feudal warfare (especially as shown on pp. 81, 182) with modern warfare.

14. Show, by selected passages, Scott's veneration for the ideals of feudalism (pp. 81, 228, etc.).15. Rewrite the scene of the combat between Roderick and Fitz-James (pp. 198–200) in the prose style of Scott as in the tournament scene in Ivanhoe.

SELECTIONS FOR CLASS READING

1. The chase (pp. 60–65).

2. The Trossachs (pp. 66–68).

3. Ellen (pp. 72–74).

4. Ellen's song (pp. 83–85).

5. Roderick's arrival (pp. 100–105).

6. Roderick's proposal (pp. 113–118).

7. The consecration of the bloody cross (pp. 128–132).

8. The summoning of the clan (pp. 132–135).

9. The Coronach (pp. 136, 137).

10. Roderick overhears Ellen's song (pp. 148–149).

11. The ballad of Alice Brand (pp. 162–167).

12. Fitz-James and the mad woman (pp. 172–178).

13. The hospitality of a Highlander (pp. 180–183).

14. The hidden army (pp. 191–192).

15. The combat (pp. 195–200).

16. Douglas at the games (pp. 207–211).

17. The speech of Douglas (pp. 212, 213).

18. The Battle of Beal' an Duine (pp. 232–240).

19. Fitz-James reveals himself to Ellen (pp. 244–249).

CLASSES OF POETRY

It is important for the student of poetry to know the principal classes into which poems are divided. The following brief explanations do not pretend to be exhaustive, but they should be of practical aid. It must be remembered that a long poem is sometimes not very definitely of any one class, but combines characteristics of different classes.

Narrative poetry, like narrative prose, aims primarily to tell a story.

The epic is the most pretentious kind of narrative poetry; it tells in serious verse of the great deeds of a popular hero. The Iliad, the Aeneid, Beowulf, Paradise Lost are important epics. The Idylls of the King is in the main an epic poem.

The metrical romance is a rather long story in verse, of a less exalted and heroic character than the true epic. Scott's Lady of the Lake is a familiar example.

The verse tale is shorter and likely to be less dignified and serious than the metrical romance. The stories in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, or Burns's Tam O'Shanter, may serve as examples.

The ballad is a narrative poem, usually rather short and in such form as to be sung. It is distinguished from a song by the fact that it tells a story. Popular or folk ballads are ancient and of unknown authorship—handed down by word of mouth and varied by the transmitters. Artistic ballads are imitations, by known poets, of traditional ballads.

Descriptive and reflective poems have characteristics sufficiently indicated by the adjectives in italics.The pastoral is a particular kind of descriptive and narrative poem in which the scene is laid in the country.

The idyll is, according to the etymology of its name, a "little picture." Tennyson's Idylls of the King are rather more epic than idyllic in the strict sense of the term. The terms idyll and pastoral are not definitely discriminated.

Lyric poetry is poetry expressing personal feeling or emotion and in tuneful form. Songs are the simplest examples of lyric poetry; formal odes, such as Wordsworth's on "Immortality," the most elaborate. A lyric does not primarily tell a story, but it may imply one or refer to one.

The elegy is a reflective lyric prompted by the death of some one. Tennyson's In Memoriam is a collection of elegiac lyrics.

A hymn is a religious lyric.

Dramatic poetry presents human life in speech and action.

A tragedy is a serious drama which presents its hero in a losing struggle ending in his death.

A comedy does not end in death, and is usually cheerful and humorous.

The dramatic monologue is a poem in which a dramatic situation is presented, or perhaps a story is told, by one speaker.

Satire in verse aims to correct abuses, to ridicule persons, etc.

Didactic poetry has the purpose of teaching.

The following errors have been corrected in this text:

Page 41: added period after "Southey in 1774"

Page 89: put blank line between lines 18 and 19 of Canto Second

Page 98: moved line number 255 of Canto Second to correct position (in the original the line number was at line 254)

Page 165: changed "by their monarch's si" to "... side"

Page 196: changed "by" to "my" in "When foeman bade me draw my blade;"

Page 212: changed "shreik" to "shriek" in "the women shriek;"

Page 253: changed comma to period after "a harp unseen"

Page 256: changed "364" to "363" in note on line 343 of Canto Second

Page 258: changed "364" to "363" in note on line 116 of Canto Third

Page 260: added period after "150" in note on line 150 of Canto Fourth

Page 262: added period after "from the calendar"

Page 262: changed "Robinhood" to "Robin Hood" in "Bold Robin Hood and all his band."

Page 268: changed "p. 5" to "p. 6" in question "Does Scott keep ..."