The Lady of the Lake

Walter Scott

Cosimo, Inc., Nov 1, 2005 - Poetry - 272 pages

A kindly heart had brave Fitz-James;Fast poured his eyes at pity's claims, And now, with mingled grief and ire, He saw the murdered maid expire."God, in my need, be my relief, As I wreak this on yonder Chief!"-from The Lady of the LakeWildly successful with readers and critics on both sides of the Atlantic when it was first published in 1810, this is Scott's renowned romantic poem about love and honor amidst a bitter rivalry between King James V and the powerful Douglas clan of the Scottish Highlands.This revised edition, published in 1899, features an extensive introduction that places Scott and his writings in historical and literary context, as well as explanatory notes, study guides, and suggested selections for class or book-group readings.Scottish novelist and poet SIR WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832), a literary hero of his native land, turned to writing only when his law practice and printing business foundered. Among his most beloved works are Rob Roy (1818), and Ivanhoe (1820).American writer WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY (1869-1910) served as co-editor of the Harvard Monthly and assistant professor of English at the University of Chicago. He authored several verse plays, books of poetry, and histories and criticisms of English literature.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - thornton37814 - LibraryThing

This long poem with six cantos with many long parts. Each canto depicts a single day. Three men vie for the love of Ellen Douglas. However, feuds are present and the Highland clans and lowland Scots ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - thesmellofbooks - LibraryThing

I loved this. My 1907 edition has copious footnotes which are fascinating reading, expanding on and explaining many of the references and word choices in the poem, and occasionally getting sniffy ...

Contents

• V: 59
• VI: 251
• VII: 265
• IX: 269
• X: 270
• XI: 271

Popular passages

Page 48 - He either fears his fate too much, Or his deserts are small, Who dares not put it to the touch, To gain or lose it all.

Page 66 - The western waves of ebbing day Rolled o'er the glen their level way; Each purple peak, each flinty spire, Was bathed in floods of living fire. But not a setting beam could glow Within the dark ravines below, Where twined the path, in shadow hid, Round many a rocky pyramid, Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splintered pinnacle...

Page 31 - I rather think there was a blush as well as a smile upon his face, when he perceived a little black pig frisking about his pony, and evidently a self-elected addition to the party of the day. He tried to look stern, and cracked his whip at the creature, but was in a moment obliged to join in the general cheers. Poor piggy soon found a strap round...

Page 63 - While every gasp with sobs he drew, The labouring stag strained full in view. Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed, Unmatched for courage, breath, and speed...

Page 60 - THE stag at eve had drunk his fill, Where danced the moon on Monan's rill, And deep his midnight lair had made In lone Glenartney's hazel shade ; But, when the sun his beacon red Had kindled on Benvoirlich's head, The deep-mouthed bloodhound's heavy bay Resounded up the rocky way, And faint, from farther distance borne, Were heard the clanging hoof and horn. 2. As chief who hears his warder call, "To arms ! the foemen storm the wall," The antlered monarch of the waste Sprung from his heathery couch...

About the author

Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on August 15, 1771. He began his literary career by writing metrical tales. The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion, and The Lady of the Lake made him the most popular poet of his day. Sixty-five hundred copies of The Lay of the Last Minstrel were sold in the first three years, a record sale for poetry. His other poems include The Vision of Don Roderick, Rokeby, and The Lord of the Isles. He then abandoned poetry for prose. In 1814, he anonymously published a historical novel, Waverly, or, Sixty Years Since, the first of the series known as the Waverley novels. He wrote 23 novels anonymously during the next 13 years. The first master of historical fiction, he wrote novels that are historical in background rather than in character: A fictitious person always holds the foreground. In their historical sequence, the Waverley novels range in setting from the year 1090, the time of the First Crusade, to 1700, the period covered in St. Roman's Well (1824), set in a Scottish watering place. His other works include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, and The Bride of Lammermoor. He died on September 21, 1832.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Lady of the Lake; Cosimo classics literature
• Author: Walter Scott
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cosimo, Inc., 2005
• ISBN: 1596054727, 9781596054721
• Length: 272 pages
• Subjects: Poetry / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh