Concetti Chiave
- Walter Scott was a key figure in the "Age of Revolutions", representing the thoughts of the Scottish middle class through his historical novels.
- Scott's novels, such as "Ivanhoe" and "Rob Roy", are characterized by their historical context and appeal to themes of national identity and social change.
- Scott and Manzoni, both prominent Romantic writers, shared the concept of the historical novel set in real historical contexts, despite having different national focuses.
- Scott aimed to recover and celebrate Scotland's cultural past, contrasting with Manzoni's challenge of inspiring Italian national unity in a divided political landscape.
- Both authors emphasized history as a sequence of events led by "middle heroes", ordinary people essential for societal change, reflecting their views on national identity.
The Age of Revolutions and Walter Scott
In a period, called by historians "Age of Revolutions", in which the middle class was achieving more power and people had many rights, there was a writer who represented, and exprimed, thoughts of respectful people as the Scottish one: sir Walter Scott. He comes from Edinburgh, a town which was growing and falling under the new social class of merchants and businessmen. In his life he didn't follow his father's career, who wanted to introduce the son in legal fields, but he choice literary studies. After the first novel "Warvely", which gave him the success, he wrote others famous novels as "Ivanhoe", "Rob Roy" and "The Antiquary". Fame conquered by his books, found his reason in themes and style characterizing his works: historical context, in which Scott use setting stories.
Comparison between Scott and Manzoni
He was often compared with the Italian Romantic writer more representative in European culture: Alessandro Manzoni. Even if they share lots of theories, they have also some different points of views: the most important one they share is the definition of historical novel, an invented story sets in a real historical context. And the story obliged them to start their works. In 1707, Act of Union had been joined England and Scotland, even if Scottish had their autonomy only in political field, but in that new age, english middle class plucked out Scottish traditions, in which there never was been a classes division; families was only divided in "clan" and they had social relationships. Now, the new ones couldn't interact, every class had to follow his laws; Scottish had to acquired English customs too, so Walter Scott tried to recover his people's folk, celebrating Scotland past history. On the contrary, Manzoni's target was much more difficult to realize: Italy wasn't a nation such as Scotland, it was divided in lots of states.
The Use of History in Manzoni
The reason of Manzoni's history's use had been given by the people situation: he wanted to teach them to have a conscience and to join together becoming a nation. It seems impossible during a period in which political situation was at the opposite of his ideas. So we can see how history is the main theme in those authors works, and how it is also interpreted at the same way: they always thought history as a sequel of events based on a "middle hero", an ordinary person belonging to the people. The great and important hero is less considered, he can start a revolution, but he needs the ordinary people to balance his role, this is because this theory come from the idea supported by Scott and Manzoni, that is to say, history is the way of life of a nation, of a people.
Domande da interrogazione
- Who was Walter Scott and what was his contribution to literature during the Age of Revolutions?
- How did Walter Scott's literary focus differ from his father's expectations for his career?
- In what ways were Walter Scott and Alessandro Manzoni similar and different in their approach to historical novels?
- What role does history play in the works of Scott and Manzoni, and how do they interpret it?
Walter Scott was a Scottish writer from Edinburgh who became famous for his historical novels during the Age of Revolutions, a time when the middle class gained more power and rights. His works, such as "Ivanhoe" and "Rob Roy," are characterized by their historical context and themes, reflecting the thoughts of the Scottish people.
Walter Scott chose to pursue literary studies instead of following his father's wishes for him to enter the legal field. His decision led to a successful career as a novelist, with his first novel "Waverley" bringing him significant success.
Both Walter Scott and Alessandro Manzoni are known for their historical novels, which are fictional stories set in real historical contexts. However, while Scott focused on celebrating Scotland's past and its traditions, Manzoni aimed to inspire Italians to unite as a nation, reflecting their different national contexts and goals.
History is a central theme in the works of both Scott and Manzoni, who view it as a sequence of events driven by "middle heroes," or ordinary people. They believe that while great heroes can initiate revolutions, it is the ordinary people who sustain and balance these movements, reflecting their shared belief that history is the life of a nation and its people.
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