Comparison Of Miss Rose Bradwardine And The Chieftain's Sister

The effect of stepping back in time is also demonstrated through the differences between the novel’s two romantic love interests. Rose is introduced by her full title of “Miss Rose Bradwardine” (Scott 41) whereas Flora is “The Chieftain’s Sister” equating her to the old highland traditions. Time is malleable and something Waverley moves backwards and forwards through; this equates with the narrator of the novel and Scott himself, describing class issues and political rebellions and fights for independence in 1745 against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Sir Walter Scott started the novel in 1805 only to lay it aside and resume writing it in 1810 followed by another gap before its conclusion and publication in 1814. The social and political changes in Britain over this decade of writing cannot be overstated. The events of turmoil, young revolutionary fervour and thought, and ultimate punishment and end of the fight for independence are echoed and countered in the British Romantic’s engagement with different independence and revolutionary narratives. Scott is looking back on the 1745 Hanoverian uprising with the knowledge of the successful American War of Independence and the devastating Terror that evolved from the French Revolution: Waverley is thus keenly aware …show more content…
Ironically, when Byron insults “the four first rhymes” and begs “take them not for mine” he is disparaging the rhymes of his own stanza as well. The Ottava Rima is consequently an expectation and a denial of the content contained within a signal form. This combination of two vastly different types of content, the lyrical beginning, and the punchy concluding rhyming couplet, demonstrates Byron’s use of different conventions and his combination of genres to his own egotistical, burlesque