Значение слова SCOTT в Литературной энциклопедии

SCOTT

1) ALEXANDER (1525?-1584?).-Scottish poet. Almost nothing is known of his life, but he is believed to have spent most of his time in or near Edin. Thirty-six short poems are attributed to him, including _Ane New Yeir Gift to Quene Mary_, _The Rondel of Love_, and a satire, _Justing at the Drum_. He has great variety of metre, and is graceful and musical, but his satirical pieces are often extremely coarse.2) SCOTT HUGH STOWELL (1863?-1903).-Novelist (under the name of Henry Seton Merriman). He was an underwriter in Lloyd's, but having a strong literary bent, latterly devoted himself to writing novels, many of which had great popularity. They include _The Slave of the Lamp_ (1892), _The Sowers_ (generally considered his best) (1896), _In Kedar's Tents_ (1897), _Roden's Corner_ (1898), _Isle of Unrest_ (1900), _The Velvet Glove_ (1901), _The Vultures_ (1902), and _Barlasch of the Guard_ (1903). He worked with great care, and his best books hold a high place in modern fiction. He was unusually modest and retiring in character. 3) SCOTT, JOHN (1730-1783).-Poet, _s._ of a Quaker draper who in his later years lived at Amwell, a village in Herts, which the poet celebrates in his descriptive poem, _Amwell_. He wrote much other verse now forgotten. 4) SCOTT, LADY JOHN (ALICIA ANN SPOTTISWOODE) (1801-1900).-_M._ Lord John Scott. She was the writer of a number of Scottish songs characterised by true poetic feeling. Among them may be mentioned _Annie Laurie_, _Douglas_, and _Durrisdeer_. She also composed the music for them. 5) SCOTT, MICHAEL (1789-1835).-Novelist, _b._ near and _ed._ at Glasgow, and settled in business at Kingston, Jamaica, which led to his making frequent sea voyages, and thus yielded him experiences which he turned to account in two vivacious novels, _Tom Cringle's Log_ and _The Cruise of the Midge_, both of which first appeared in _Blackwood's Magazine_, where they attained deserved popularity. They have frequently been reprinted. The author, however, maintained a strict _incognito_ during his life. 6) SCOTT, SIR WALTER (1771-1832).-Poet, novelist, and biographer, _s._ of Walter S., a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and Margaret Rutherford, _dau._ of one of the Prof. of Medicine in the Univ. there. Through both parents he was connected with several old Border families; his _f._ was a scion of the Scotts of Harden, well known in Border history. In early childhood he suffered from a severe fever, one of the effects of which was a permanent lameness, and for some time he was delicate. The native vigour of his constitution, however, soon asserted itself, and he became a man of exceptional strength. Much of his childhood was spent at his grandfather's farm at Sandyknowe, Roxburghshire, and almost from the dawn of intelligence he began to show an interest in the traditionary lore which was to have so powerful an influence on his future life, an interest which was nourished and stimulated by several of the older members of his family, especially one of his aunts. At this stage he was a quick-witted, excitable child, who required rather to be restrained than pressed forward. At the age of 7 he was strong enough to be sent to the High School of Edinburgh, where he was more remarkable for miscellaneous and out-of-the-way knowledge and his powers of story-telling than for proficiency in the ordinary course of study; and notwithstanding his lameness, he was to be found in the forefront wherever adventure or fighting were to be had. Thereafter he was for three sessions at the Univ., where he bore much the same character as at school. He was, however, far from idle, and was all the time following the irresistible bent, which ultimately led to such brilliant results, in a course of insatiable reading of ballads and romances, to enlarge which he had by the time he was 15 acquired a working knowledge of French and Italian, and had made the acquaintance of Dante and Ariosto in the original. Percy's _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, _pub._ in 1765, came into his hands in 1784, and proved one of the most formative influences of this period. At 15 he was apprenticed to his _f._, but preferring the higher branch of the profession, he studied for the Bar, to which he was called in 1792. He did not, however, forego his favourite studies, but ransacked the Advocates' Library for old manuscripts, in the deciphering of which he became so expert that his assistance soon came to be invoked by antiquarians of much longer standing. Although he worked hard at law his ideal was not the attainment of an extensive practice, but rather of a fairly paid post which should leave him leisure for his favourite pursuits, and this he succeeded in reaching, being appointed first in 1799 Sheriff of Selkirk, and next in 1812 one of the Principal Clerks to the Court of Session, which together brought him an income of L1600. Meanwhile in 1795 he had translated Buerger's ballad of _Lenore_, and in the following year he made his first appearance in print by publishing it along with a translation of _The Wild Huntsman_ by the same author. About the same time he made the acquaintance of "Monk" Lewis, to whose collection of _Tales of Wonder_ he contributed the ballads of _Glenfinlas_, _The Eve of St. John_, and _The Grey Brother_; and he _pub._ in 1799 a translation of Goethe's _Goetz von Berlichingen_. In 1797 he was _m._ to Miss Charlotte Margaret Charpentier, the _dau._ of a French gentleman of good position. The year 1802 saw the publication of Scott's first work of real importance, _The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_, of which 2 vols. appeared, the third following in the next year. In 1804 he went to reside at Ashestiel on the Tweed, where he ed. the old romance, _Sir Tristrem_, and in 1805 he produced his first great original work, _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_, which was received with great favour, and decided that literature was thenceforth to be the main work of his life. In the same year the first few chapters of _Waverley_ were written; but the unfavourable opinion of a friend led to the MS. being laid aside for nearly 10 years. In 1806 S. began, by a secret partnership, that association with the Ballantynes which resulted so unfortunately for him 20 years later. _Marmion_ was _pub._ in 1808: it was even more popular than the _Lay_, and raised his reputation proportionately. The same year saw the publication of his elaborate ed. of Dryden with a Life, and was also marked by a rupture with Jeffrey, with whom he had been associated as a contributor to the _Edinburgh Review_, and by the establishment of the new firm of J. Ballantyne and Co., of which the first important publication was _The Lady of the Lake_, which appeared in 1810, _The Vision of Don Roderick_ following in 1811. In 1812 S. purchased land on the Tweed near Melrose, and built his famous house, Abbotsford, the adornment of which became one of the chief pleasures of his life, and which he made the scene of a noble and kindly hospitality. In the same year he _pub._ _Rokeby_, and in 1813 _The Bridal of Triermain_, while 1814 saw _The Life and Works of Swift_ in 19 vols., and was made illustrious by the appearance of _Waverley_, the two coming out in the same week, the latter, of course, like its successors, anonymously. The next year, _The Lord of the Isles_, _Guy Mannering_, and _The Field of Waterloo_ appeared, and the next again, 1816, _Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk_, _The Antiquary_, _The Black Dwarf_, and _Old Mortality_, while 1817 saw _Harold the Dauntless_ and _Rob Roy_. The enormous strain which S. had been undergoing as official, man of letters, and man of business, began at length to tell upon him, and in this same year, 1817, he had the first of a series of severe seizures of cramp in the stomach, to which, however, his indomitable spirit refused to yield, and several of his next works, _The Heart of Midlothian_ (1818), by many considered his masterpiece, _The Bride of Lammermoor_, _The Legend of Montrose_, and _Ivanhoe_, all of 1819, were dictated to amanuenses, while he was too ill to hold a pen. In 1820 _The Monastery_, in which the public began to detect a falling off in the powers of the still generally unknown author, appeared. The immediately following _Abbot_, however, showed a recovery. _Kenilworth_ and _The Pirate_ followed in 1821, _The Fortunes of Nigel_ in 1822; _Peveril of the Peak_, _Quentin Durward_, and _St. Ronan's Well_ in 1823; _Redgauntlet_ in 1824, and _Tales of the Crusaders_ (_The Betrothed_ and _The Talisman_) in 1825. By this time S. had long reached a pinnacle of fame such as perhaps no British man of letters has ever attained during his lifetime. He had for a time been the most admired poet of his day, and though latterly somewhat eclipsed by Byron, he still retained great fame as a poet. He also possessed a great reputation as an antiquary, one of the chief revivers of interest in our ancient literature, and as the biographer and ed. of several of our great writers; while the incognito which he maintained in regard to his novels was to many a very partial veil. The unprecedented profits of his writings had made him, as he believed, a man of wealth; his social prestige was immense; he had in 1820 been made a baronet, when that was still a real distinction, and he had been the acknowledged representative of his country when the King visited it in 1822. All this was now to change, and the fabric of prosperity which he had raised by his genius and labour, and which had never spoiled the simplicity and generosity of his character, was suddenly to crumble into ruin with, however, the result of revealing him as the possessor of qualities even greater and nobler than any he had shown in his happier days. The publishing and printing firms with which he had been connected fell in the commercial crisis of 1826, and S. found himself at 55, and with failing health, involved in liabilities amounting to L130,000. Never was adversity more manfully and gallantly met. Notwithstanding the crushing magnitude of the disaster and the concurrent sorrow of his wife's illness, which soon issued in her death, he deliberately set himself to the herculean task of working off his debts, asking only that time might be given him. The secret of his authorship was now, of course, revealed, and his efforts were crowned with a marvellous measure of success. _Woodstock_, his first publication after the crash, appeared in the same year and brought L8000; by 1828 he had earned L40,000. In 1827 _The Two Drovers_, _The Highland Widow_, and _The Surgeon's Daughter_, forming the first series of _Chronicles of the Canongate_, appeared together with _The Life of Napoleon_ in 9 vols., and the first series of _Tales of a Grandfather_; in 1828 _The Fair Maid of Perth_ and the second series of _Tales of a Grandfather_, _Anne of Geierstein_, a third series of the _Tales_, and the commencement of a complete ed. of the novels in 1829; a fourth and last series of _Tales_, _History of Scotland_, and other work in 1830. Then at last the overworked brain gave way, and during this year he had more than one paralytic seizure. He was sent abroad for change and rest, and a Government frigate was placed at his disposal. But all was in vain; he never recovered, and though in temporary rallies he produced two more novels, _Count Robert of Paris_ and _Castle Dangerous_, both in 1831, which only showed that the spell was broken, he gradually sank, and _d._ at Abbotsford on September 21, 1832. The work which S. accomplished, whether looked at as regards its mass or its quality, is alike marvellous. In mere amount his output in each of the four departments of poetry, prose fiction, history and biography, and miscellaneous literature is sufficient to fill an ordinary literary life. Indeed the quantity of his acknowledged work in other departments was held to be the strongest argument against the possibility of his being the author of the novels. The achievement of such a result demanded a power of steady, methodical, and rapid work almost unparalleled in the history of literature. When we turn to its quality we are struck by the range of subject and the variableness of the treatment. In general there is the same fulness of mind directed by strong practical sense and judgment, but the style is often heavy, loose, and even slipshod, and in most of his works there are "patches" in which he falls far below his best. His poetry, though as a whole belonging to the second class, is full of broad and bold effects, picturesqueness, and an irresistible rush and freshness. As a lyrist, however, he stands much higher, and in such gems as "Proud Maisie" and "A weary lot is thine, Fair Maid," he takes his place among our greatest singers. His chief fame rests, of course, upon the novels. Here also, however, there is the same inequality and irregularity, but there is a singular command over his genius in virtue of which the fusing, creating imagination responds to his call, and is at its greatest just where it is most needed. For the variety, truth, and aliveness of his characters he has probably no equal since Shakespeare, and though, of course, coming far behind, he resembles him alike in his range and in his insight. The most remarkable feature in his character is the union of an imagination of the first order with practical sagacity and manly sanity, in this also resembling his great predecessor. SUMMARY.-_B._ 1771, _ed._ Edin., called to Bar 1792, Sheriff of Selkirk 1799, Principal Clerk of Session 1812, first _pub._ translation of _Lenore_, etc., wrote ballads and made translation from German, _pub. Minstrelsy of Scottish Border_ 1802-3, _Lay of Last Minstrel_ 1805, began _Waverley_ 1805, partner with Ballantynes 1806, _pub._ _Marmion_ 1808, _Lady of Lake_ 1810, began to build Abbotsford 1812, Waverley novels began and continued 1814-31, health began to fail 1817, made Baronet 1820, ruined by failure of Ballantynes 1826, devotes rest of his life to clearing off debt by novels and historical works, _Tales of a Grandfather_, _Life of Napoleon_, etc., health finally gave way 1830, _d._ 1832. The great authority is the _Life_ by Lockhart, but it has been supplemented by the _Journal_ (1890) and _Letters_ (1893). Short _Lives_ by C. Gilfillan, R.H. Hutton, etc., etc. 7) SCOTT, WILLIAM BELL (1811-1890).-Poet and painter, _s._ of Robert S., an engraver, and brother of David S., painter, _b._ in Edin., settled in London, and painted chiefly historical subjects. He _pub._ five vols. of poetry, including _Hades_ and _The Year of the World_, and many fine sonnets, a form of poetry in which he excelled, and in prose _Half-hour Lectures on Art_ and _The Little Masters_ in the Great Artists Series. He also ed. a series of "English Poets," and wrote a Life of his brother and one of Albrecht Duerer, etc.

Литературная энциклопедия. 2012