id him by scholars. In 1805 we find Scott
writing to Ellis that his scheme for editing a collection of the British
Poets had fallen through, for, he said, "My plan was greatly too liberal
to stand the least chance of being adopted by the trade at large, as I
wished them to begin with Chaucer. The fact is, I never expected they
would agree to it."[102]

Scott's review of Godwin's _Life of Chaucer_, one of the best known of
his periodical essays, is altogether concerned with the manner in which
Godwin did his work, and so exhibits Scott's ideas on the subject of
biography and his methods of reviewing rather than his attitude towards
Chaucer's poetry. His most definite remarks concerning Chaucer are to be
found in his comments upon Dryden's _Fables_, as for example: "The
Knight's Tale, whether we consider Chaucer's original poem, or the
spirited and animated version of Dryden, is one of the best pieces of
composition in our language";[103] "Of all Chaucer's multifarious
powers, none is more wonderful than the humour with which he touched
upon natural frailty, and the truth with which he describes the inward
feelings of the human heart."[104] Yet he once called _Troilus and
Criseyde_ "a somewhat dull poem."[105] _The Cock and the Fox_, on the
other hand, he speaks of as "a poem which, in grave ironical narrative,
liveliness of illustration, and happiness of humorous description,
yields to none that ever was written."[106]

In estimating the importance of Scott's studies on any one period we
have to think of them as part of a greater whole. The wide range of his
investigations would evidently make it impossible to expect a complete
treatment of all the subjects he might choose to discuss, and we have
found, in fact, that his criticism of mediaeval literature led to
systematic results in no other lines than those of the ballad and the
romance. But these were large and important matters. Moreover, to all
that he wrote in connection with the Middle Ages there attaches a
special interest; for with that work he made his real start in
literature; and it reflected the peculiarly delightful vein in his own
nature which was constant from youth to age, and which gave to his poems
and novels some of their most brilliant qualities.[107]

THE DRAMA

Scott's fondness for the drama and his acquaintance with actors--His
ideas about plot structure--His own dramatic experiments--His
opinion of the theaters of his day--His kn