ABSTRACT

11The extracts chosen for commentary have been selected both to illustrate Scott's main themes and preoccupations, and also to highlight those aspects of his art most likely to attract the modem reader. Although the passages have been arranged in groups, the specific topic of one group can hardly escape the possibility of incidental treatment under some other heading. Thus the sections on Scott's use of vernacular speech, and his treatment of politico-religious conflict, for example, will inevitably include passages that could be arranged under the heading ‘Characterisation’, the former because so many characters speak vernacular Scots, the latter because so much of the handling of political and religious issues is done in terms of individual figures.