OF SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. We will now proceed to mention most of the writings of Sir Walter Scott; but, for their value and excellence, we refer the reader to the works themselves; contenting ourselves with giving a list of his principal works and the dates of their publication. 1796. William and Helen, &c. (from the German of Bürger.) 1799. Goethe's tragedy of Göetz von Berlichingen. 1800. The House of Haspen, a tragedy. 1801. The Eve of St. John. 1802. The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. 1804. Sir Tristrem, a metrical romance. 1805. The Lay of the Last Minstrel, 1806. Ballads and Lyrical pieces, 2 vols. 1808. Marmion, or a Tale of Flodden Field. 1809. The Works of John Dryden, with Notes, and a Life of the Author. 1810. The Lady of the Lake. 1811. The Vision of Don Roderick. The Antiquary. The Tales of my Landlord, 1st series, containing 1817. Harold the Dauntless. Rob Roy. 1818. The Tales of my Landlord, 2nd series, containing The Heart of Mid Lothian. An Account of the Scottish Regalia. XVI THE WORKS OF SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. 1819 The Tales of my Landlord, 3rd series, containing The Bride of Lammermoor and the Legend of Hallidon Hill. Macduff's Cross, a dramatic sketch. 1823. Peveril of the Peak. Quentin Durward. 1824. Redgauntlet. 1825. Tales of the Crusaders. 1826. Woodstock. 1827. The Life of Bonaparte. The Chronicles of the Cannongate, 1st series, containing. The Two Drovers, The Highland Wi dow, and The Surgeon's Daughter. Tales of a Grandfather, 1st series. 1828. The Chronicles of the Cannongate, 2nd series, containing The Fair Maid of Perth. Tales of a Grandfather, 2nd series. 1829. Ann of Geirstein. " The History of Scotland, vol 1, Tales of a Grandfather, 3rd series. 1830. Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft. Tales of a Grandfather, 4th series. History of Scotland vol. 2. Essays on Ballad Poetry. 1831. The Tales of my Landlord, 4th series, contain ing Count Robert of Paris and Castle Dangerous, THE Poem, now offered to the Public, is intended to illustrate the customs and manners, which anciently prevailed on the Borders of England and Scotland. The inhabitants, living in a state partly pastoral and partly warlike, and combining habits of constant depredation with the influence of a rude spirit of chivalry, were often engaged in scenes, highly susceptible of poetical ornament. As the description of scenery and manners was more the object of the Author, than a combined and regular narrative, the plan of the ancient metrical romance was adopted, which allows greater latitude, in this respect, than would be consistent with the dignity of a regular poem. The same model offered other facilities, as it permits an occasional alteration of measure, which, in some degree, authorizes the changes of rythm in the text. The machinery also, adopted from popular belief, would have seemed puerile in a Poem, which did not partake of the rudeness of the old Ballad, or Metrical Romance. For these reasons, the Poem was put into the mouth of an ancient Minstrel, the last of the race. who, as he is supposed to have survived the Revolution, might have caught somewhat of the refinement of modern poetry, without losing the simplicity of his original model. The date of the tale itself is about the middle of the sixteenth century, when most of the personages actually flourished. The time occupied by the action is three nights and three days. |