Sir Walter Scott as a Critic of Literature

Name: Sir Walter Scott as a Critic of Literature
Author: Margaret Ball

by Margaret Ball

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Subjects

Scott, Walter, 1771-1832 -- Knowledge -- Literature Scott, Walter, 1771-1832 -- Bibliography

In: Literature - Other·Essays, Letters & Speeches

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #16715.

About this book

Margaret Ball’s study opens with a clear statement of purpose: to rescue Sir Walter Scott’s neglected critical and scholarly output from the shadow of his celebrated romances. Drawing on a suggestion from a Columbia professor and acknowledging the assistance of several eminent scholars, Ball situates her work in the academic context of 1907, when no comprehensive bibliography of Scott’s non‑fiction had yet appeared. The introductory chapter outlines the scope of the investigation, tracing Scott’s evolution from early ballad collector and editor to a prolific reviewer and historian, and promises a detailed annotated bibliography, a list of quoted books, and an index. By interweaving biographical detail with a chronological survey of Scott’s editorial projects, ranging from the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border to his editions of Dryden and Swift, Ball establishes a framework for understanding the interplay between his critical writings and his creative imagination.

Written in the measured, scholarly prose of early‑20th‑century literary criticism, the book reflects the period’s reverence for exhaustive documentation and careful argument. Its tone is academic yet accessible, suitable for readers who appreciate a methodical exploration of a major author’s lesser‑known output. Students of Romantic literature, historians of the British press, and anyone interested in the relationship between literary creation and criticism will find Ball’s meticulous cataloguing and contextual analysis rewarding.

Who appears in Sir Walter Scott as a Critic of Literature

Sir Walter ScottGaunt early‑19th‑century Scottish gentleman, dark hair, high‑collared coat, tartan cravat, thoughtful expression
Professor TrentMiddle‑aged early‑20th‑century American scholar, spectacles, tweed jacket, waistcoat, scholarly demeanor

The opening · free to read

The lack of any adequate discussion of Scott's critical work is a sufficient reason for the undertaking of this study, the subject of which was suggested to me more than three years ago by Professor Trent of Columbia University. We still use critical essays and monumental editions prepared by the author of the Waverley novels, but the criticism has been so overshadowed by the romances that its importance is scarcely recognized. It is valuable in itself, as well as in the opportunity it offers of considering the relation of the critical to the creative mood, an especially interesting problem when it is presented concretely in the work of a great writer.

No complete bibliography of Scott's writings has been published, and perhaps none is possible in the case of an author who wrote so much anonymously. The present attempt includes some at least of the books and articles commonly left unnoticed, which are chiefly of a critical or scholarly character.

I am glad to record my gratitude to Professor William Allan Neilson, now of Harvard University, and to Professors A.H. Thorndike, W.W. Lawrence, G.P. Krapp, and J.E. Spingarn, of Columbia, for suggestions in connection with various parts of the work. From the beginning Professor Trent has helped me constantly by his advice as well as by the inspiration of his scholarship, and my debt to him is one which can be understood only by the many students who have known his kindness.