Who is the mysterious minstrel who is wandering around? Why is he so sad? And what odd person does he meet along the way? 
The activity uses the opening section of Walter Scott's The Lay of the Last Minstrel, in which a sad, elderly minstrel wanders along the way, feeling sad about the life that he has lost. This activity combines English and drama skills.
After a starter activity, pupils should read the poem and use the description of the minstrel to draw a picture of him. The third activity is an interview task, in which pupils take turns to pretend to be the minstrel. Eight pictures of unusual characters are included in the activity pack, which the pupils can then use to create a short skit. Full instructions are given within the pack. Finally, some analysis questions are included as an advanced or follow-on activity.
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This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant Number AH/V011111/1.
It is part of The Edinburgh Edition of Walter Scott's Poetry: Engaging New Audiences. It was developed by Dr Anna Fancett as part of the Walter Scott Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen with the support of Abbotsford, Scott's home in the Scottish Borders and The Association for Scottish Literature.
