Walter Scott, Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field

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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…

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 19 March 2024.]

3710 Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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