Difference between revisions of "Sir Walter Scott"
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| − | '''Sir Walter Scott''' (1771-1832) was a Scottish poet and novelist, closely associated with English [[Romanticism]]. His novels, such as ''Ivanhoe'' and ''Waverley'', and his narrative poems, most famously ''The Lady of the Lake'', became | + | '''Sir Walter Scott''' (1771-1832) was a Scottish poet and novelist, closely associated with English [[Romanticism]]. His novels, such as ''Ivanhoe'' and ''Waverley'', and his narrative poems, most famously ''The Lady of the Lake'', became widely popular during his own lifetime and have remained so ever since thanks to his careful historical reconstruction of the eras in which his stories were set, and to his incorporation of folklore and literary traditions from the people of Scotland and England. Today, Scott is often considered one of the three "greats" in 18th- and 19th-century Scottish literature (the others being [[Robert Burns]] and [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]). |
==Early Life== | ==Early Life== | ||
Revision as of 16:36, June 16, 2021
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish poet and novelist, closely associated with English Romanticism. His novels, such as Ivanhoe and Waverley, and his narrative poems, most famously The Lady of the Lake, became widely popular during his own lifetime and have remained so ever since thanks to his careful historical reconstruction of the eras in which his stories were set, and to his incorporation of folklore and literary traditions from the people of Scotland and England. Today, Scott is often considered one of the three "greats" in 18th- and 19th-century Scottish literature (the others being Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson).
Early Life
Walter Scott was born on 15 August 1771 in the "Old Town" section of Edinburgh, Scotland, the last of nine children (six of whom died in infancy). His father (also Walter Scott) was a solicitor of some prominence in Edinburgh, while his mother, Anne Rutherford, was the daughter of a physician and the sister of the scientist Daniel Rutherford, who identified the gas nitrogen in 1772. Both Scott's parents belonged to the gentry of the Scottish Borders region, claiming descent from chieftains of several Border clans.[1]
In 1773, the young Walter contracted polio, which left him with a limp. In hopes of curing this, his parents sent him to live at the home of his paternal grandfather, Robert Scott, in the rural Scottish Borders, where he was taught to read and learned many of the folktales that he would later employ in his literary career. The stay in the countryside restored his powers of mobility somewhat, and after being returned to Edinburgh, he began his formal education at the city's Royal High School in 1779. He remained there until 1783, when he was sent back to the Borders countryside for his health and attended Kelso Grammar School for several months. Although his marks in these institutions were not especially high, he had already developed a passionate interest in history and literature, and frequently explored the city and the surrounding area.