Allan Ramsay & Edinburgh: commemoration in the city of forgetting

Lamont, C. (2018) Allan Ramsay & Edinburgh: commemoration in the city of forgetting. Scottish Literary Review, 10(1), pp. 117-137.

[img] Text
167330.pdf - Published Version

671kB

Publisher's URL: http://muse.jhu.edu/article/696246

Abstract

This article is a study of the memorials concerning the poet Allan Ramsay in Edinburgh. Ramsay, best known for his pastoral drama The Gentle Shepherd, has been largely neglected, or 'forgotten', in Edinburgh's nineteenth-century project of memorialisation. The Ramsay Monument in West Princes Street Gardens by John Steell is the rare exception. In order to understand the effect of this and other memorials I have examined bibliographical and periodical sources and set these against the longer tradition of commemorating Ramsay in the Pentlands area which we might call 'Gentle Shepherd Country'. I have also incorporated theories from memory studies, especially those particular to the study of memorials and 'cultural memory'. Finally, it will be shown that the late nineteenth-century fashion for medieval nostalgia and the very recent turn towards celebrating Robert Louis Stevenson during large scale UNESCO events have superseded the age of the Scottish Enlightenment with new 'images' of Edinburgh.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lamont, Dr Craig
Authors: Lamont, C.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Scottish Literature
Journal Name:Scottish Literary Review
Publisher:Association for Scottish Literary Studies
ISSN:1756-5634
ISSN (Online):2050-6678
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2018 Association for Scottish Literary Studies
First Published:First published in Scottish Literary Review 10(1): 117-137
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
680611Allan Ramsay and Edinburgh in the First Age of EnlightenmentMurray PittockThe Royal Society of Edinburgh (ROYSOCED)N/ACRIT - ENGLISH LITERATURE