Compared with his previous narrative poem, Marmion, this work is far more readable, understandable, and thereby enjoyable. However, it doesn't astonish me that Scott largely shifted to prose from then on and initiated his highly successful series of Waverley novels.
It seems that his main intention is to depict the culture, personality types, and passions of the Scots in historical periods. The bold positions, the heroic postures, the heraldic calls to honor and loyalty, the praise of bravery and manliness - these emotional outpourings seem more significant than any mere account of actual deeds. Among the six cantos, each with just under a thousand lines, which make up approximately 150 pages of this poem, only about half of one of them actually contains a battle - and that is related secondhand by the wandering minstrel Allan, who serves James of Douglas.
In fact, there are nearly half a dozen'songs' that disrupt the flow of the story. They do have a uniquely telling effect and are truly evocative and lyrical masterpieces of description. But they are not the story. My assumption here is that Scott recognized that in order to maintain his readers' interest more strongly, his evocations of the Scottish soul would have to be intertwined with a more substantial narrative drive, one to which prose rather than verse more easily lends itself.
The'story' of The Lady of the Lake could just as easily have been written as a novel. It has several of Scott's well-known structural hallmarks: a highly attractive heroine, Ellen of Douglas, who is pursued not by one, not by two, but by three suitors. There is more than one instance of the hidden and/or mistaken identity of a main character, which he used so ingeniously again and again throughout the novels. There is the fascination with Scottish traditions: especially the Taighairn or 'fiery cross' for summoning the clans, the traditional games of archery, wrestling, and caber tossing, and the hunting custom of T'inchel by which deer (or opposing military forces) are surrounded in a space of ever-decreasing perimeters.
Without the copious notes accompanying the school-book edition (from 1915!) that I read, I would have been somewhat at a loss (far too many proper nouns of places, personages, and cultural customs!), but with judicious use of them, this poem was quite accessible. Its story borders on the trivial - a minor rebellion by an overly-proud noble against a king whose title to the throne is somewhat disputed. The main story goes off-track more times than I can count; and the resolution to the love-interest angle is not entirely clear by its conclusion.
Nevertheless, it's not bad. Since I've finished all the Waverley novels, I'm seeking out his rather obscure poems to find the next Scott work to read.
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A cameo from Robin Hood and his band prevented me from suicide. It was a rather unexpected encounter. I was at my lowest point, ready to take that final step. But then, out of nowhere, Robin Hood and his merry men appeared. Their presence brought a glimmer of hope and a sense of adventure to my otherwise despairing situation. However, as much as their appearance stopped me from taking my own life, it didn't keep me from wanting to kill Walter Scott. I know he's already dead, but the anger and frustration I feel towards his work still lingers. Maybe it's because his stories didn't resonate with me the way they did with others. Or perhaps it's because I have my own personal issues that I'm projecting onto him. Either way, the desire to "kill" Walter Scott, in a figurative sense, still persists within me.