Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Sir Walter Scott?

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    5

    Question Sir Walter Scott?

    [FONT=Arial]7Dark orange

    Who wrote the lines "Breathes there the man whose soul so dead"?
    What is the full text of the poem?

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    1
    The quote is from "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" and actually reads: "Breathes there a man with soul so dead, who never to himself hath said "this is my own, my native land."

  3. #3
    Registered User Jackson Richardson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Somewhere in the South East of England
    Posts
    1,273
    It is a very long poem.

    The first two stanzas of Canto 6 begin

    Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
    Who never to himself hath said,
    This is my own, my native land!
    Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,
    As home his footsteps he hath turn'd,
    From wandering on a foreign strand!
    If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
    For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
    High though his titles, proud his name,
    Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
    Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
    The wretch, concentred all in self,
    Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
    And, doubly dying, shall go down
    To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
    Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung.
    II
    O Caledonia! stern and wild,
    Meet nurse for a poetic child!
    Land of brown heath and shaggy wood,
    Land of the mountain and the flood,
    Land of my sires! what mortal hand
    Can e'er untie the filial band,
    That knits me to thy rugged strand!
    Still as I view each well-known scene,
    Think what is now, and what hath been,
    Seems as, to me, of all bereft,
    Sole friends thy woods and streams were left;
    And thus I love them better still,
    Even in extremity of ill.
    By Yarrow's stream still let me stray,
    Though none should guide my feeble way;
    Still feel the breeze down Ettrick break,
    Although it chill my wither'd cheek:
    Still lay my head by Teviot Stone,
    Though there, forgotten and alone,
    The Bard may draw his parting groan.
    Previously JonathanB

    The more I read, the more I shall covet to read. Robert Burton The Anatomy of Melancholy Partion3, Section 1, Member 1, Subsection 1

Similar Threads

  1. We need some Sir Walter Scott please.
    By Em3080 in forum Book & Author Requests
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 11-25-2007, 05:09 PM
  2. Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker Adaptation
    By The_Khan in forum General Literature
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 05-11-2006, 09:39 AM
  3. Orson Scott Card's Wyrms Adaptation
    By The_Khan in forum General Literature
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 05-02-2006, 03:28 PM
  4. Walter Scott's journal
    By D'arcy in forum Scott, Sir Walter
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 04-08-2006, 07:31 PM
  5. The Blood Horse- Bryan Walter Procter
    By Helga in forum Poems, Poets, and Poetry
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 04-01-2006, 10:24 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •