Sir Walter Scott in Dictionaries: Invention and Artistry
Thursday 15th June 2017
Summary of the Talk:
Prof. Jeremy J. Smith explores the influence of Sir Walter Scott's works on language, particularly through his contributions to dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL).
- Invention: The paper starts by discussing the concept of "invention" in literature, which has two meanings: the creation of new ideas or methods and the act of discovering or finding something. Prof. Smith relates this to Scott's writing, where his works exemplify both forms of invention: the creation of new expressions and the discovery or rediscovery of older words and traditions.
- Scott’s Contributions to Dictionaries: Smith emphasizes Scott's significant role in expanding the English language through his works, noting that his writings contributed over 17,000 quotations to the OED and introduced hundreds of new words and senses. The paper details several words that Scott helped introduce or popularize, such as "bedazzled," "bibliomaniac," and "gastronome."
- Scott's Use of Language: The lecture explores Scott's linguistic dexterity, which blends both Scottish and English lexicons, showcasing his mastery in coining words and adapting language for literary purposes. This lexical innovation is highlighted as a key aspect of his style.
- The Role of Style: Smith delves into the concept of style in literature, discussing how writers like Scott use language in special ways to communicate not just ideas but the experience of life itself. He suggests that style is the writer’s choice from the available language, influenced by the social context, mode, and register. Scott’s style, with its intricate use of vocabulary and metaphors, is marked by a deliberate play with language to reflect the complexity of human experience.
- Case Study: The Lay of the Last Minstrel: To demonstrate his points, Smith examines Scott's poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel. He discusses how Scott uses traditional forms like iambic tetrameter, while also infusing modern, political relevance. The poem reflects Scott’s ability to creatively revive and repurpose medieval traditions for contemporary uses.
Interesting Points:
- Lexical Innovation: Scott's influence on the English language is profound, as he introduced and popularized many words and expressions that are still in use today.
- Cultural Context: Smith highlights how Scott's use of language was deeply intertwined with both the Scottish and European Romantic traditions. His writings, including his work on historical texts and the reconstruction of Abbotsford, reveal a keen sense of historical engagement and linguistic revival.
- The Role of Style in Communication: Scott’s style is not just about using language to tell a story, but about using language to evoke and reflect complex experiences and ideas. His style shows how writers can shape and communicate culture through their choice of words.
- Romanticism and Language: The paper underscores how Scott, like many Romantic writers, was engaged in the process of resurrecting and reinterpreting the past, whether through literature, architecture, or language.
This paper sheds light on the intricate relationship between Scott's literary artistry and his contributions to the English language, underlining his dual role as both an inventor and a discoverer of language.
Download the [Transcript]
Jeremy Smith is Professor Emeritus in English Language and Linguistics, University of Glasgow, and an Honorary Professor in the University of St Andrews. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of the English Association, and of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies. He has served as President of the International Society for the Linguistics of English, as Convener of the Board of Trustees of Scottish Language Dictionaries (now Dictionaries of the Scots Language), and on the Council of the Scottish Text Society; he is currently a member of Council of the Philological Society. He specialises in English historical linguistics, the history of Scots, and book history. Recent publications include Transforming Early English (Cambridge UP, 2020), a co-edited collection, Genre in English Medical Writing 1500-1820 (also Cambridge UP, 2022), and Reinventing Medieval Liturgy in Victorian England (with David Jasper, Boydell and Brewer, 2023). Current projects include a corpus-based study of English religious discourse, 1380-1780, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
Synopsis: The Oxford English Dictionary records two core meanings for invention. One is current: ‘The action of devising, contriving, or making up; contrivance, fabrication.’ However, according to classical and medieval rhetoricians, there was another sense, now obsolete: ‘The action of coming upon or finding; the action of finding out; discovery (whether accidental, or the result of search and effort).’ I argue that Scott’s creations exhibit both kinds of invention.
My lecture begins by examining Scott’s presence in the great historical dictionaries of English and Scots. Then, after a digression on what is meant by style, I analyse one of the writer’s great early successes, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), referring also to his novel The Antiquary (1816), and Scott’s great house at Abbotsford.
