Sir Walter Scott was a very successful writer during the beginning of the 19th century. Born and raised in Scotland, many say that Sir Walter Scott had a very significant impact on the culture of Scotland. From writing about daring knights to making kilts fashionable attire, Scott was a cultural icon at the time. But how much influence did Scott truly have on the cultural influence of Scotland? Scott was the most culturally significant author, for Scotland, in the 19th century.
The early life of Sir Walter Scott was riddled with tragedy and struggle. The Scotts resided in the Old District of Edinburgh. Out of the twelve children in the Scott family, only five survived their early youth. The hardest part of Walter Scott’s childhood was when he was struck with polio which crippled his right leg. These terrible events may have been brought about by the poor conditions in the city. To protect their crippled son, the Scotts sent Walter away to live with his paternal grandfather in the countryside. During his time in the countryside Sir Walter Scott reveled in ancient Scottish folklore told by his grandfather. He took great interest in Scottish history and culture. “Here, in the country air, he became a sturdy boy, and his mind was stored with the old Broder tales and songs” (Lockhart). After leaving the countryside as a young adult, Scott undertook many trips around Scotland to hear the folklore shared by the people. These old tales of Scottish history inspired Scott to write in the romantic style.
Sir Walter Scott’s early influences helped dictate his future as a romanticist writer. Characterized by their removal from rational thoughts romanticist writers believe that feelings are above all and that a deeper meaning can be found in ...
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During the time when everything looked rough for Scotland, Macbeth came through. Macbeth was heroic on the battlefield and didn't hesitate to demonstrate courage and strength. As captain of the army, he was a leader. Macbeth killed the enemy by taking his sword and pushing it through the slave's stomach and all the way up, which demonstrated his ruthlessness. Macbeth cared about his country and was fearlessly fighting for it. Macbeth's bravery is tested and this causes...
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Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a story of a tragic hero with a level of high degree, but where his actions fall short and effect the fate of his nation at large. This man who was being rewarded by King Duncan for his loyalty and courage in defending the Scottish realm, and managed to turn into a murdering, power hungry monster, simply by saying, someday you’ll be king.
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Born on September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, or as he is better known F. Scott Fitzgerald, would grow to be one of the greatest American writers of the 1920’s. Though he was the only son of Edward and Mary Fitzgerald, he did have one sister, Louise. As a boy, Fitzgerald attended St Paul’s Academy. It was here that he began writing stories for his school newspaper when he was only thirteen years old. Although he never went to war, Fitzgerald drafted into the armed forces in 1918 and stationed in Montgomery, Alabama. During this time, F.
Scott Walter “was born on August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh” to Walter Scott, a solicitor “…and Anne, a daughter of professor of medicine” (Heuss). Walter Scott attended Edinburgh High School and studied arts and laws at Edinburgh University arts and law. He was referred to as the bar 1792. In 1799, he became the sheriff depute of the Selkirk county. Scott was appointed in 1806 as the Court of Session’s clerk in Edinburgh. Walter Scott completed several poems and novels. His first major work was a poem entitled Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. However, Scott rose to fame after publishing The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), followed by Marmion (1808), The Lady in the Lake (1810), and Rokeby (1813). His final major work was The Lord of the Isles in 1815. In addition to these poems, Scott published a number of novels such as Waverley (1814), Guy Mannering (1815), Tales of My Landlord (1816), and Ivanhoe (1819) among other publications.
Sir Walter Scott is considered to be „one of the most delightful figures in English literature and probably the most famous of all the Scotsmen who have ever lived“(Fletcher 2002, p. 127). This Scottish writer is famous for his historical novels which were very popular in the nineteenth century, especially his work that is our subject to discuss in the essay – Waverley. Scott himself was a descendant of one fighting clan and knew a number of people who took part in Jacobite rebellion. This helped him to depict the events better. He enforces past events by the use of imagination and magnification. Scott introduces in his work „Waverley or ‘tis sixty years since” a protagonist who has many romantic features. The setting of the plot, the characters and the events that are going to happen represent romanticism. Sir Walter Scott published Waverley in 1814 anonymously. This work brought him a great success and popularity at that time (Sanders 1994, p. 375). There exist many opinions and critics about this work. Some consider his work a very long and boring story. They find the description of places and author’s style of writing long-winded. There are some passages about which even author claims that are lengthy. As it was part of my compulsory literature, I had to read it. I would not have started to read this work if I was not forced but I found it very interesting, though. Nevertheless, it brought closer look at history and culture of Scottish people, political and historical situation in eighteenth century. The nature of the Highlands and characters that are depicted in this work are truly fascinating for a reader.