Part 25 (1/2)

APPENDIX

(Adapted, and enlarged, from the _Manual for the Study of English Cla.s.sics_, 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 distinguis.h.i.+ng qualities of the literature of the eighteenth century? Ill.u.s.trate 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?