Walter Scott published his second full-length narrative poem Marmion: a Tale of Flodden Field in February 1808. His letters and Lockhart’s Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott indicate that he began working on it by early November 1806. Thus, Marmion was composed more rapidly than The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), which had taken Scott at least three years to write. Arguably, Scott’s haste shows. Early critics found stylistic and historical infelicities on grounds of which they attacked the poem. Marmion nevertheless benefited from the established popularity of the Lay and it consolidated Scott’s success as a poet. Demand for Marmion demonstrates the phenomenal level of interest in Scott’s writing, even in the years before he began publishing the novels for which he is now better known. Sales reached around 13,000 within...
3491 words
Citation: Oliver, Susan. "Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3710, accessed 13 December 2025.]
