“Waverley”

1. “Waverley” “The Conflict”

2. “The Conflict” Ex 1 Consider lines 1-56. • What is the plan of the Prince? • The Prince has decided to attack the enemy on a firm and open plain which can be reached following a secret route. • How would you define the relationship between the Prince and the clans? Support your answer with quotations from the text. • The relationship between the Prince and the clans is very warm. The Prince calls them “friends” (line 7); and the clans are happy to follow him (e.g. “unanimous joy”, line 13). Moreover, the clans show their devotion to the Prince by preventing him from charging in person (lines 46-48). • Describe the conditions of the clans’ march as regards: • Time of day • The march takes place at night • Weather • In darkness and fog • Ground • Over a very difficult ground.

3. How is the description of the march related to the description of the clansmen’s qualities? • The difficulty of the march emphasises the skill and bravery of the clans who conduct it with “astonishing silence and great rapidity” (l.16). • What do you learn about the internal structure of the clans? • The structure of the clans is hierarchical with the noblest-born at the top (lines 52-56). Ex.2 Consider lines 57-83 • List all the verbs and phrases that describe the movements and actions of the clansmen; underline the utterances of their chief and say what atmosphere is created. • Verbs and phrases that describe the movements and actions • The clansmen .... • stript their plaids; • prepared their arms; • pulled off their bonnets; • raised their faces to heaven; • uttered a short prayer; • pulled their bonnets over their brows; • began to move slowly; • the clans rushed forward;

4. they advanced; • they mended their pace; • their muttering sounds .... began to swell into a tremendous yell. • the Highlanders ... dropped their guns when fired, • drew their broadswords, • rushed with headlong fury against the infantry. • Utterances of their chief • “Down with your plaid, Waverley .....we’ll win silks for our tartans before the sun is above the sea” • “Forward, sons of Ivor, ... or the Camerons will draw the first blood” • There’s an atmosphere of increasing excitement and a strong emotional aura of battle. • Is the description of the regular army as lengthy as that of the clansmen? What impression does the narrator’s comment on the regular army convey? • The description of the regular army is much shorter than that of the clans and the narrator’s comment “the sight impressed no terror on the assailants” (line 74) somewhat diminishes the image of the regular army.

5. List all the verbs that describe the actions of the regular army after the clash and say how the data you have collected are related to the narrator’s comment. • The verbs that describe the actions of the regular army “seized with a disgraceful panic, wavered, halted, disbanded, galloped from the field” (line 79) confirm the poor performance of the army suggested by the narrator’s comment. • Focus on the description of the setting and say how it is related to the scene so far. • The setting described in lines 71-72: “ The vapours rose like a curtain, and showed the two armies in the act of closing” suggests a theatre stage and reinforces the vividness of the scene which is so minutely described that the reader can almost “see” it as if it were performed on a stage.

6. Is Waverley’s involvement based on action or feelings? Give reasons to your answer. • So far Waverley hasn’t taken part in any action. Only his feelings are described (lines 62-66). • Say: • what the main topic of the description is. the main topic of the description is the battle; • from whose point of view the scene is described. It is described from Waverley’s point of view; • who, you, as a reader, are encouraged to admire. the reader is encouraged to admire the clansmen.

7. Ex.3 Consider lines 84 to the end. • Say: • if Waverley is seen fighting with the Highlanders; Waverley is not seen fighting with the Highlanders. • what he actually does; He saves an English officer and tries to save his former commander. • What aspect/s of his character is/are displayed. Waverley’s generosity and humanitarian spirit are shown. • What aspects of the English army are emphasised ? Support your answer with quotations. The courage of the English is stressed both in the English officer’s desperate defence and in the resistance of the English infantry despite their heavy losses. (lines 83-95”... Waverley remarked an English officer ...” and lines 106 – 110 “... Colonel Gardiner, ..... unavailing resistance”.)

8. What is the cause of their defeat? They had not been trained to fight against the Highlanders’ weapons and brutality/ferocity. • What aspect/s of the clansmen is/are emphasized? Their eagerness for spoil, ferocity and lack of humanity when fighting are emphasized. • Is your impression of the clansmen the same or has it undergone some change? If so, Why? While in the previous section only positive aspects of the clans were emphasized, in this section the comments seem to favour the English army.

9. Ex.4 Considering the extracts as a whole, what is, in your opinion, the narrator’s main aim? Choose from the following list: • to describe the battle • to describe Waverley’s crisis in the heat of battle • to describe the political clash of two nations at a particular historical moment • to describe two different cultures struggling for survival • to bring out the qualities of the hero of the novel.