We do this through the presence of enablers — light, sound, graphics and touch — and the absence of textual and physical barriers. Tam tries to sustain his merry mood on his journey by singing old Scots songs but his spirits drop as the weather closes in and the darkness unsettles him. Eventually he encounters a gruesome scene in a ruined church, Auld Kirk Alloway.
The neat structure is matched by a style that makes the poem engaging and memorable. He also employs plenty of humour and fellow feeling in the character of Tam.
The consequence of this is that visitors to Alloway tend to remember the chain of events without retaining textual detail sometimes regarded as a barrier to comprehension and enjoyment, particularly by those unfamiliar with Scots or English.
Poem and place: Burns showcases the village of Alloway, the prime reason for writing Tam. It heightens their experience. Poet and place: Burns is tied to the landscape through his birth and local knowledge. Visiting Alloway is a way of communing with the poet.
Burns succeeded not only in creating a thinness between the real world and the world of Tam, but also in blurring distinctions between the narrator and the poet himself. In , the National Trust for Scotland reinterpreted the main Burns landmarks and the museum collection gifted by Burns Monument Trust in These are based on three stories identified by Burns in a letter to Francis Grose in June Visitors are put in the place of Burns — in listening mode — as poem, poet and place are brought together through simple interpretation.
This is done using silhouettes, where shadows provide the outline of a figure or scene but require the viewer to fill in the details using their imagination. The linear narrative is also represented in the distribution of the weather vanes — like stations of the cross — providing visitors with an open-air pilgrimage through Tam. Alloway Auld Kirk is the most important site in terms of action in the poem.
By day, interpretation is light touch and discreet. Most interpretive text is found engraved on stones set into a path encircling the kirk. This form of interpretation was chosen to fit with the site, to look like gravestones, unobtrusive but also factual. The stones tell of how Burns came to write the poem, making the connection between poet, poem and place. A changing light sequence suggests the various moods in the poem, from a dance of witches to Satan in the east window playing the bagpipes.
Freed from the weight of text, lighting is an attempt to make the place even thinner. However, as at the kirk, there are different daytime and night-time presentations. The book serves as a metaphorical bridge between Burns and modern visitors and it also saved the bridge from demolition in the 19th century.
Using a minimal approach and working with the qualities of place, we dive directly into the action — the place activates the poem. Robert Burns's poem Tam O'Shanter , recounts the story of farmer Tam who encounters a coven of witches.
A beautiful witch, Nannie, wears a revealing 'cutty sark' or short dress and angrily pursues the spying Tam. Considered by many to be Burns's finest poem, the story of Tam is thought to have been based on an old folk tale. Capt Francis Grose, author of Antiquities of England and Wales published in 6 volumes , met Robert Burns while conducting research in Scotland. Burns suggested a drawing of the ruins of Alloway church should be included in Grose's new book; Grose agreed on condition Burns provided a witches' tale to go with it.
Burns related three stories, one of which gave the essence of Tam O'Shanter's story. New stories, newly added artworks and shop offers delivered straight to your inbox every week. Created with Sketch. About Discover Learn Support us.
Main menu Close. Sign in Register. Email address. Remember me uncheck on a public computer. First name. Sign up to the Art UK newsletter. Alloway Kirk from the East John B. Colour for supper: Burns Night with the Scottish Colourists.
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