Ode to a Nightingale

On First Looking into the Chapman's Home

(the translation of Homer's epics made by Chapman 1559-1634)

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told, That deep-brow'd Homer rules as his demesne: Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He stared at the Pacific — and all his men Looked at each other with a wild surmise — Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

Keats was encouraged to write by his schoolmaster Charles Clarke, an educated man of advanced political views. But it was Hunt (1784-1859), a poet and jour-^; nalist, who introduced Keats to the readers in a popular paper "The Examiner". That's why Keats dedicated his first volume of poems (1817) to Hunt.

Then Keats wrote his mythological poem "Endymion" (1817). His best lyrics were written during 1818-1819.

By the end of 1819 he became ill. He was struck by tuberculosis and died in 1821 in Italy. During all his short life he tried to express his passion for the beauty, love and nature. His "Ode to a Nightingale" is based on a strong contrast between the beautiful world the bird belongs to, and the fever of the world of men.

In the spring of 1819 a nightingale built her nest near John Keats's house. The poet enjoyed its song. Once he spent several hours in the garden and when he came into the house he had some scraps of paper in his hand — his poetic feeling on the song of the night­ingale.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In ancient days by emperor and clown: Perhaps the self-same song that found a path Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for

home,

She stood in tears amid the alien corn; The same that oft-times hath Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

John Keats ha's always been regarded as one of the principal Later Romantics of the Age of Romanticism in English Literature when all the preferences were given to the sphere of feelings, emotions and imagination.

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

The name of Sir Walter Scott isl

closely connected with the genre ofj the historical novel. It was he who introduced it into English Literature because he was interested in the ro- i mantic aspects of Scottish history.! Walter Scott expanded the range ofj the novel as a literary form. His histor-j ical novels changed attitudes towards the past, he made] the world aware of Scotland, his novels struck the reader with their epic quality.

Walter Scott was born on 15th of August, 1771 into! the family of a well-known Edinburgh lawyer. His-mother Anne Rutherford was the eldest daughter at a] professor of medicine of Edinburgh University. Both! parents were descended from old Border families. Therefore, Walter Scott acquired an interest in the his-j tory and legends of the Borders. When a child, he spent much time with his grandparents at their farm in thej Borders.

At the age of seven Walter Scott entered the High] School of Edinburgh. He spent there five years.

In 1783 he proceeded to Edinburgh University. His! father wanted him to study law. But Walter Scott's" profound interest in history and passionate love for hisj country changed the course of his life. He was greatly interested in the folklore of Scotland, he collected leg­ends and popular ballads of the Highlands and Border Country, filling his mind with romantic tradition. The works of the German romantics, Schiller and Goethe, attracted him. He possessed a great knowledge of ro-

antic literature. Though personally friendly to the kists (William Wordsworth was his life-long friend),

e never shared their literary tastes. His early reputation was as a narrative poet. In

802-1803 Walter Scott published a collection of Scot-

ish legends under the title of "The Minstrelsy of the

cottish Border". hunting for bal­ds he also hit

pon the goblin

tory out of which

e developed his

irst verse-tale of

order chivalry, 'The Lay of the

ast Minstrel"

The Borders

1805).

Walter Scott's, tales portrayed vivid image of the chivalry of feudal times, well-drawn pictures of Border and Highland scenery. The great success of the collection encouraged Scott to make literature his main pursuit in life. The following literary ballad comes from "The Heart of Midlothian". It is called "Maisie". It is the death song of a mad peasant woman:

Proud Maisie is in the wod, Walking so early; Sweet Robin sits on the bush, Singing so rarely.

"Tell me, thou bonny bird, When shall I marry me?" — "When six braw gentlemen Kirkward shall carry ye."

"Who makes the bridal bed, Birdie, say truly?" — "The grey-headed sexton, That delves the grave duty."

The glow-worm o'er grave and stone Shall light thee steady; The owl from the steeple sing, "Welcome, proud lady".

In 1808 Walter Scott published "Marmion":

— Such dusky grandeur clothed the height,
Where the huge castle holds its state,
And all the steep slope down,

Whose ridgy back heaves to the sky, Piled deep and massy, close and high, Mine own romantic town.

In 1810 Walter Scott published the most powerful poem, "The Lady of the Lake":

— The summer dawn's reflected hue,
To purple changed Loch Katrine blue,
Mildly and soft the western breeze,
Just kissed the Lake, just stirr'd the trees.

Loch Katrine is situated not far from Edinburgh.! There is the steamship "Sir Walter Scott" named after the great poet who wrote "The Lady of the Lake". It: makes 8 miles cruise from the narrow inlet at Trossachs I Pier to the Loch's southwestern shore, Royal Cottage j and Glengyle House at the northern head of the' Loch — the birthplace of Rob Roy MacGregor.

Sir Walter Scott combined the life of a poet and] country gentlemen with that of a principal clerk of the Court of Session (the Supreme Civil Court of Scot-f 128

land). Edinburgh was a vital part of Scott's being and his books were published there. Up to 1814 Scott wrote poems on historical and legendary subjects and became famous as a poet. Meanwhile, he purchased a farm­house on the banks of the Tweed.

During 1814-1832 he began to write novel after novel. "Waverley", his first historical novel was pub­lished in 1814. It was the beginning. It was a success, and from then to the end of his life Walter Scott devoted himself only to prose. Every year he produced a novel. But he concealed his authorship until 1827, because he was Sheriff of Selkirk. But the success of the "Scotch Novels" was great and brought him a large income. Walter Scott managed to create a new genre — a historical novel by blending historical fact with roman­tic fancy. With his growing fame as a writer Walter Scott was made a baronet in 1820.

The historical events that attracted his attention were those closely connected with the relations be­tween Scotland and England, the struggle for Scottish independence. For many centuries England, that was much more economically developed than its northern neighbour, had oppressed Scotland and the freedom-loving Scots. The author described the 17th-18th cen­turies of the Scottish history. Among his most famous novels are "Rob Roy" (1818), "The Bride of Lammer-moor" (1819). He chose for his heroes the common people of Scotland.

THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR

In this novel Sir Walter Scott told a sad love story about Lucy Ashton who lived in the Lammermuir Hills. Her family was rich, and her brother didn't want her to marry Edgar, a poor young man. That's

why Edgar went to Italy, but he couldn't forget his] Lucy and wrote her passionate letters about his love.] But Lucy didn't receive the letters, because her broth-l er was hiding them from her. He told Lucy that Edgar] didn't love her and it would be better for her to marry] his rich friend. Lucy believed her brother and married] his friend. On the same day Edgar returned from Italy,] Lucy fell ill because she was in despair. She decided] to kill her husband. Afterwards she died very soon.| Edgar didn't want to live and killed himself with a knife.

Later Walter Scott extended his background also to] England. He wrote several historical novels about Eng- • land; the periods he chose there were the end of the 16th century (the Elizabethan Age) and the middle of 1 the 17th century (the Bourgeois Revolution and the Restoration of Monarchy). Among those novels were:] "Ivanhoe" (1820), "The Monastery" (1820), "The] Abbot" (1820), "Quentin Durward" (1823).

England and Scotland were closely connected witfJ each other in their historical development. Thus in "The

Abbot" Walter Scott de­scribed one of the epi­sodes of the tragic life ом Mary, Queen of Scots.

Walter Scott was interested in the romantic aspects of Scottish history

"Quentin Durward" was written on a different j subject. Walter Scott por-i trayed the King of France j as one of the most cun-

ning politicians of his time.

Among the outstanding historical novels "Ivanhoe" was one of the best.

IVANHOE

Walter Scott described the epoch of the Norman Conquest. The events took place at the end of the 12th century when the Normans who had come from France and conquered England in 1066 were now fighting for absolute power in the country. There were many conflicts in England between the Nor­mans and the Anglo-Saxons who hated the Normans desperately. Richard the Lionheart ruled the country. But Richard spent all his life and too much money fighting in the Crusades. While he was absent, his brother, prince John, ruled the kingdom. Prince John plotted against Richard the Lionheart, he tried to seize the power in England.

During those times many common Anglo-Saxons ran away to the Sherwood forest and became outlaws. They were noble outlaws. Their leader was a noble brave man whose name was Locksley. Locksley was one of the names of Robin Hood. Locksley hated the rich and helped the poor.

The plot of the story centres round the
young Anglo-Saxon knight, Ivanhoe,
who had quarrelled with his father
and was driven away from his
house. He fought together
with Richard the Lion­
heart, and secretly re­
turned to England, to his
love, beautiful Lady Ro-
wena... Ivanhoe and Lady Rowena

The language of the novel is rich and colourful. Thj author revealed his feelings through the thoughts and dialogues of the main characters. Walter Scott waif master of dialogue, he introduced Scottish dialects intij his characters' speech.

In 1825 the printing and publishing business James Ballantyne, into which Walter Scott had entered • as a partner, was ruined. The writer heroically set* himself to work to clear off his debts. For five years he laboured at the work, publishing "The Life of NapM leon", "Tales of a Grandfather" and others. He man­aged to repay his debts, but his health broke down. In] 1830 Walter Scott suffered severe apoplectic attacks. Therefore he went to Italy to build up his strength, but; learning of the death of his favourite grandson, hurried home. The tragedy deeply affected him and he died on-] the September 21, 1832 of apoplexy.

Sir Walter Scott was buried in St Mary's Aisle,] Dryburgh Abbey.

George Byron, a great admirer of Scott's talent, said] that "he (Walter Scott) was a library in himself". Like Walter Scott, Byron had an exact feeling of the historical^: development. Unlike Walter Scott, Byron didn't share the Lake poets' disapproval of revolutionary methods. J

But it was Walter Scott, the first writer of a new genre of the historical novel, who depicted Scotland as a mysteriously romantic country full of adventure.

There are many places of interest connected with the name of Sir Walter Scott all over Scotland. Scott Monument in Edinburgh is one of the famous land­marks with a 287 step climb to the top.

In 1832 an architectural competition for an appropri­ate memorial to Sir Walter Scott was launched.

As a result the design by George Veikle Kemp had won.

In 1840 the construction of the monument to Walter Scott began in Princes Street Gardens.

In 1846 the monument was built. Since then millions of tourists have climbed the 200 foot structure to ad­mire the views of Edinburgh and the statues of Walter Scott's characters which decorate the monument.

Scott Monument in Edinburgh

Scott Monument in Edinburgh attracts tourists greatly. Not far from the monument there is Sir Wal­ter Scott's Tea Room, a cosy place where you can enjoy the view of Ed­inburgh castle just from the window of the Tea Room while enjoying the waitress service tearoom with au­thentic Scottish cooking. The festival Menu includes such delicious Festival Fancies as Haggis and Oatcakes, Salmon Pate Piper's Pie (chicken and mushroom), Jug­gler's Lunch (ploughman's lunch) or Soup of the day (with a crusty roll) and Bread and Butter Pudding.

Sir Walter Scott's Tea Room invites the visitors:

Festival fancies If you're caught on the hoof,

Whilst doing The Fringe,

Why not come into our Tea Room,

Embark on a binge

We We Shortbread and Haggis

And Clootie^ Dumpling too,

If you're not sure what they are,

You should try a fair few.

The Writers' Museum in Edinburgh

The name of Sir Walter Scott is соЛ memorated by his rfl lief profile on the nortfl wall of the Write™ Museum in Edinburgh More than that, thfl quotation from hM "The Lay of the Lam Minstrel" is inscribed in stone and set in thfl paving which leads to] the door of the Writers' Museum:

— Breathes there the man, with soul so deac Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land!

The Museum has a unique collection of relics and! manuscripts relating to Walter Scott: the rocking horse

he used as a boy, his dining

table from 39, Castle Street,

Jk the printing press on which

Шк Scott's Waverley Novels were

■r. printed and his chess set.

ii

Glasgow. The monument to Sir Walter Scott

In Glasgow the tourists can] enjoy the monument to Sir Walter Scott in the middle of the city square where there are many other monuments to: great men of Scotland.

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