Sir Walter Scott, born in Edinburgh on 15 August 1771 and dead at Abbotsford on 21 September 1832, became one of the most influential writers in the English language: a poet who dominated the reading public before Byron, a novelist who effectively established the modern historical novel, an editor and antiquarian who preserved Scottish oral traditions, a lawyer and public official, a conservative political figure, an…
“Solitude is only agreeable when the power of having society is removed to a short space, and can be commanded at pleasure.”
Neighbourhood:
Folk & Ballad Poets, Romantic Poets, Scottish Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Wonder, Longing
James I of Scotland, born in July 1394 and murdered on 21 February 1437, occupies an unusual and compelling place in British history. He was a king who spent nearly half his life as a hostage in a foreign country; a reforming monarch whose efforts to strengthen the crown won admiration as well as hatred; a musician, sportsman, and cultivated reader; and, by longstanding tradition, the author of one of the finest poem…
Neighbourhood:
Love Poets, Medieval Poets, Scottish Poets
Emotional landscape: Joy, Wonder, Tenderness
