Scott, Sir Walter
British writer. 177 1 was born in an ancient family in Edinburgh on August 5th, and 1832 died in Abertsford on September 2nd/0/. He studied law at Edinburgh University and became a lawyer 1792. Later, he served as deputy sheriff of Selkirk County and president of Edinburgh High Civil Court. He worked hard all his life and wrote a lot of poems, novels, history, comments and so on. In his later years, he went bankrupt because of poor management of the publishing industry, writing day and night to pay off debts, and eventually broke down from overwork.
From 1802 to 1803, Scott collected and published three volumes of Scottish Border Ballads, which were well received. After 1805, eight long poems such as Song of the Last Poet, Mamion and Lady on the Lake came out one after another. Influenced by pre-Gothic romanticism, his long poems are mostly based on history or folklore, showing the chivalrous adventures of kings and nobles in ancient Scotland and England. The works are full of romantic feelings, expressing the love for Scottish scenery and yearning for the ideals of ancient knights.
18 14 years, Scott began to write historical novels and published Waverly anonymously. With the theme of James Uprising in Scotland in the18th century, it praised the bravery of highland people and mourned the inevitable decline of Scottish clan society. Waverley, the hero, lingers between the two camps with orthodox thoughts and sympathy for the insurgents. This kind of characters appear repeatedly in Scott's historical novels, and are called "middle way" heroes by Hungarian critic Luacs. Scott wrote 27 historical novels in his life, most of which were based on Scottish history, mainly including: The Old Man who Repaired the Tomb, which described the story of the heroic uprising of the Scottish Puritans against the cruel repression of the British authorities in the17th century and was highly praised by Marx; "Red Chief Rob" describes the touching story of the tribal hero "Red Chief Rob", known as "Robin Hood of Scotland", who killed the rich and helped the poor and fought against the government. The Heart of Midlothshire is also the background of a historical uprising of Edinburgh citizens against the British rulers, but it focuses on creating an unforgettable image of an ordinary Scottish girl with noble qualities, and is regarded as Scott's best work. Scott also wrote many historical novels with the theme of British and European history, including: Ivanhoe showed the complex ethnic and social contradictions in Richard's Lion Heart period in England through the adventures of Ivanhoe, the hero. With twists and turns and distinctive characters, it is the author's most popular novel. Through the experience of Quentin Davide, the guardian of King Louis Xi of France, The Castle Storm describes France's struggle against feudal separatism and the establishment of centralization. Scott is the founder of English historical novels. His novels have created vivid images of many historical figures and ordinary workers, full of romantic passion and fascination, and also truly reflect the general trend of historical development. Scott's historical novels had an important influence on many European and American writers in the19th century.