Walter Scott, The Lady of the Lake

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Walter Scott’s third narrative poem,

The Lady of the Lake

,

was published on 8th May 1810. The plot is geographically and culturally located on the Highland/Lowland border around Loch Katrine, the Trossachs and the Western Highlands of Perthshire, and in Stirling. Since the story involves James V of Scotland (1512-42) as a young adult, subsequent to his visits to France, the action is set in the mid or late 1530s.

The Lady of the Lake

therefore can be considered in some ways a sequel to Scott’s previous historical narrative poem

Marmion

(1808), which concluded with the Battle of Flodden (1513) at which James IV died. Scott had expressed his intention to work with a Highland setting at least five years before publication of

The Lady of the Lake

, and had deferred that plan at the time he…

3919 words

Citation: Oliver, Susan. "The Lady of the Lake". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=423, accessed 28 March 2024.]

423 The Lady of the Lake 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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