HOW WALTER SCOTT TRANSFORMED FOLK BALLADS INTO LITERARY POETRY: AN ANALYSIS OF WORK WITH FORMULAS
Abstract
This paper examines how Walter Scott worked with the formulaic constructions of Scottish ballads when creating his own poetic works. The main focus is on the poem "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" (1805) in comparison with materials from the collection "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" (1802-1803). By analyzing specific examples of the transformation of ballad formulas—stable verbal constructions of oral poetry—we attempt to show that Scott did not simply copy folk patterns but consciously transformed them, adapting them to different artistic tasks. This research may be useful for a more precise understanding of Scott's creative method and his place in the development of Romantic poetry.
Keywords
Walter Scott, Scottish ballad, oral formulaicity, literary processing of folklore, poetic technique, Romanticism
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