Book Review: "The Lady of the Lake" by Sir Walter Scott

“Harp of the North! that mouldering long hast hung

On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring,”

Thus begins one of the loveliest poems composed by man. I have never been a great reader of poetry as I find it tends to make me too introspective and musing and generally overly romantic, yet poetry can live and breathe in such magical ways and I have always dreamed of finding that poetry which would swirl, the way people describe its behavior in books. No doubt you wonder why I give these details? Because all of the above describes “The Lady of the Lake”. It is whimsical and romantic yet it pounds with adventure and battle tension, the poetry going from sylvan to warlike with startling swiftness. One moment you are enjoying mountain vistas and then with a sudden whirl about you are in the midst of scenes of war, dashing you in hopeless delight and heart-stopping power along with it. The poetry mingles things borrowed from history with the things of legend so that the one does not leave before the other begins. Scott based the poem in places he knew well and his love shines through the words. Perhaps he did make the place a little more romantic than it truly was, but he did it so perfectly that in his story and writing he created a flawless world of his own. I was not expecting to be swept away by this poem, but I found myself caught into this work that weaves the richness of countries discovered with that of fairytales.

“The wild rose, eglantine, and broom

Wasted around their rich perfume;

The birch-trees wept in fragrant balm;

The aspens slept beneath the calm;

The silver light, with quivering glance,

Played on the water's still expanse -

Wild were the heart whose passion's sway

Could rage beneath the sober ray! “

- Canto I: XXXV