Sir Walter Scott, (1771 - 1832) was a Scottish poet, playwright, politician, historian and historical novelist. He is best known for his many classics of English and Scottish literature, including Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian, and The Bride Of Lammermoor.
This poem, Rokeby, highlights the immense talent possessed by Sir Walter Scott, displaying his ability to manipulate language with poetic rhythm and emotive description. It is a narrative poem, set in 1664, in the village of Rokeby in Yorkshire, during the English Civil War and it is concerned with events following the Battle of Marston Moor. Rokeby was written in 1813.