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.
Throughout the whole work, we can observe the development of the character of Edward Waverley. We can notice how his rom...
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...haracter is changing and he realizes the reality more and more. Author pays only little attention to Edward’s love life, but we can observe some changes too. Edward changes his affections from idealised Flora who represents magnificence and beauty to Rose who is simpler but truly loves him and thanks to her he is still alive and a free man.
Waverley is a historical romantic novel that according my opinion can impress today’s reader. It does not only approach historic events of Scotland, but carries reader by its strong characters, songs and fighting for own ideals.
Works Cited
FLETCHER, R.B. (2002): A history of English literature. Blackmask.
SANDERS, A. (1994): The short Oxford history of English Literature. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
SCOTT, W. (2010): Waverley or ‘Tis Sixty Years Since. Pennsylvania State University: An Electronic Classics Series Publication.
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Rochette-Crawley, S. (2004) James T. Farrell. The Literary Encyclopedia. April 2, 2004. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1487
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The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. The.
Sir Walter Scott has been heard around the world, translated into many languages, and repeated
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
Elizabeth Barrett Browning follows ideal love by breaking the social conventions of the Victorian age, which is when she wrote the “Sonnets from the Portuguese”. The Victorian age produced a conservative society, where marriage was based on class, age and wealth and women were seen as objects of desire governed by social etiquette. These social conventions are shown to be holding her back, this is conveyed through the quote “Drew me back by the hair”. Social conventions symbolically are portrayed as preventing her from expressing her love emphasising the negative effect that society has on an individual. The result of her not being able to express her love is demonstrated in the allusion “I thought one of how Theocritus had sung of the sweet
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...thern Literary Journal. Published by: University of North Carolina Press. Vol. 4, No. 2 (spring, 1972), pp. 128-132.
...among the greatest American authors in history, the books and stories that he wrote showed that he indeed had a lot of potential but was wasted with partying, drinking, and fighting with his wife. F. Scott is a literally genius and is a writer all his own, he had a set of skills that no other author could match. He made have died young but the mark he left on this earth will not be wasted. Future generations will enjoy his books and other writings for years to come.
The main characteristic of the new literary form of the novel according to Ian Watt is "truth to individual experience" (4) and its new shape is created by a focus on the individual character. He is presented in a specific definition of time and space. The second section of this paper will show how far this is realized in both of the novels. In the third section I want to analyze the characters' individualism in connection with the claim to truth and their complexity in description.
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The Bedford Introduction to Literature 4th ed. of the book. Boston: St. Louis St. Martin’s Press, 1996. 883-89.
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
* Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.