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The Island

From The Lady of the Lake, Canto Second, by Walter Scott

Walter Scott published The Lady of the Lake in 1810, a narrative poem set in the Scottish Highlands during the reign of James V. This canto opens the morning after a stranger has been sheltered on a lonely island; the minstrel Allan-bane sings a farewell that mingles courtesy with warning, and the young Ellen watches the stranger depart with more feeling than she admits. Scott's verse became wildly popular and helped establish the Romantic image of the Highlands. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The poem is worth a senior reader's time because it combines lyric beauty with a study of loyalty, memory, and the clash between private feeling and public duty—themes that recur throughout the work and across Scott's fiction.

Band

Red · Complex language and analysisTypical starting range: ages 15–17

Length

long · about 1293 words in 5 sections · 2 pictures

Source

The Lady of the Lake, Walter Scott

First published

1810

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

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