Who is William McGonagall - The World's Worst Poet!
Ranked #724 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #31,195 overall
The Life And Poems Of William McGonagall: Poet Laureate of the Silvery Tay And Knight of the White Elephant!
William Topaz McGonagall (1825 - 1902) was an ordinary working class Scottish man employed as a weaver in Dundee's textile industry.
One momentous day in 1877 when he was aged 52, literally in a sudden blinding flash of "divine enlightenment", he "received the spirit of poetry".
Following this revelation and inspired by an impressive self-belief in his own talent, McGonagall immediately started to write poetry...and what poetry he wrote!
For the rest of his life, McGonagall was firmly and unshakeably convinced that his poems were amongst the finest works ever penned in English Literature - an opinion which, sadly for him, his contemporaries did not share!
The poems of William McGonagall are usually on epic themes dealing with historical events, tragedies and inspirational places and people, but they lack subtlety, have little or no rhythmn, cadence or poetic metaphor and use limited vocabulary and awkward repetitive rhyming...and it's this combination that makes his work so fascinating and unintentionally funny.
McGonagall is now renowned as one of the worst poets in the English language...but that hasn't stopped him attaining cult status!
The legacy of William McGonagall's poetry lives on with an original collection of his poems selling at auction in May 2008 for £6600 ($13200), which puts his work at a similar value to first edition signed copies of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter novels - not bad for a man often described as "The World's Worst Poet"!
I am a great fan of McGonagall and I want to share the "uniqueness" of William McGonagall's poems with you!
So please read on...and prepare yourself for a veritable literary treat which, in the words of Willie McGonagall himself, you're sure to "remember for a very long time"!
* William McGonagall Collected Poems shown above available from Amazon.co.uk
One momentous day in 1877 when he was aged 52, literally in a sudden blinding flash of "divine enlightenment", he "received the spirit of poetry".
Following this revelation and inspired by an impressive self-belief in his own talent, McGonagall immediately started to write poetry...and what poetry he wrote!
For the rest of his life, McGonagall was firmly and unshakeably convinced that his poems were amongst the finest works ever penned in English Literature - an opinion which, sadly for him, his contemporaries did not share!
The poems of William McGonagall are usually on epic themes dealing with historical events, tragedies and inspirational places and people, but they lack subtlety, have little or no rhythmn, cadence or poetic metaphor and use limited vocabulary and awkward repetitive rhyming...and it's this combination that makes his work so fascinating and unintentionally funny.
McGonagall is now renowned as one of the worst poets in the English language...but that hasn't stopped him attaining cult status!
The legacy of William McGonagall's poetry lives on with an original collection of his poems selling at auction in May 2008 for £6600 ($13200), which puts his work at a similar value to first edition signed copies of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter novels - not bad for a man often described as "The World's Worst Poet"!
I am a great fan of McGonagall and I want to share the "uniqueness" of William McGonagall's poems with you!
So please read on...and prepare yourself for a veritable literary treat which, in the words of Willie McGonagall himself, you're sure to "remember for a very long time"!
* William McGonagall Collected Poems shown above available from Amazon.co.uk
The content of this page is copyright of CDT (author) February 2012. Please DO NOT copy or reproduce elsewhere either in print or online. William McGonagall - Index
Willie (Willy) McGonagall - The World's Worst Poet!
- William Topaz McGonagall: Scotland's Other National Bard!
- "Ode to Sunlight Soap" By William McGonagall
- William McGonagall Poems: "The Attempted Assassination Of Queen Victoria"
- William McGonagall, Poet And Actor
- William McGonagall's Most Famous Poem: "The Tay Bridge Disaster"
- People And Things Influenced By William McGonagall
- Billy Connolly Reads William McGonagall's Epic Poem, "The Tay Bridge Disaster"
- Three Reasons To Love William McGonagall!
- William McGonagall Poems - "The Little Match Girl"
- William McGonagall Poems - "The Moon"
- William McGonagall Memorial
- The Collected Poems Of William McGonagall
“The most startling incident in my life was the time I discovered myself to be a poet...W McGonagall”
William Topaz McGonagall: Scotland's Other National Bard!
How William McGonagall became a poet
In his autobiography, McGonagall describes his first encounter with the Muse Of Poetry:
"Dame Fortune has been very kind to me by endowing me with the genius of poetry. I remember how I felt when I received the spirit of poetry. It was in the year of 1877, and in the month of June, when the flowers were in full bloom. Well, it being the holiday week in Dundee, I was sitting in my back room in Paton's Lane, Dundee, lamenting to myself because I couldn't get to the Highlands on holiday to see the beautiful scenery, when all of a sudden my body got inflamed, and instantly I was seized with a strong desire to write poetry, so strong, in fact, that in imagination I thought I heard a voice crying in my ears--"Write! Write!"
Without further ado, McGonagall sat down there and then and penned his very first poem "An Address to the Rev. George Gilfillan".
McGonagall really believed in his own talent, to the extent that he felt his work was second only to that of William Shakespeare. He managed to get his first poem published in a local newspaper and from then on he embarked on a 25 year career of public appearances, (often dressed in a kilt and full Highland regalia), during which he read his own poetry in a dramatic fashion to the accompaniment of ridicule and abuse from the discerning public who often took along rotten fruit and vegetables with which to pelt him during his performances!
He earned his place in literary folk history for his sheer tenacity and self-belief - no amount of ridicule could deter him from his divine mission to share his awful poetry with mankind and he has achieved cult status.
The honour of "Knight of the White Elephant" was bestowed on him for services to poetry by King Theebaw of Burmah and the Andaman Islands and following his death in 1902, the local newspaper in his hometown of Dundee referred to him as "Poet Laureate of the Silvery Tay" in their obituary.
"Dame Fortune has been very kind to me by endowing me with the genius of poetry. I remember how I felt when I received the spirit of poetry. It was in the year of 1877, and in the month of June, when the flowers were in full bloom. Well, it being the holiday week in Dundee, I was sitting in my back room in Paton's Lane, Dundee, lamenting to myself because I couldn't get to the Highlands on holiday to see the beautiful scenery, when all of a sudden my body got inflamed, and instantly I was seized with a strong desire to write poetry, so strong, in fact, that in imagination I thought I heard a voice crying in my ears--"Write! Write!"
Without further ado, McGonagall sat down there and then and penned his very first poem "An Address to the Rev. George Gilfillan".
McGonagall really believed in his own talent, to the extent that he felt his work was second only to that of William Shakespeare. He managed to get his first poem published in a local newspaper and from then on he embarked on a 25 year career of public appearances, (often dressed in a kilt and full Highland regalia), during which he read his own poetry in a dramatic fashion to the accompaniment of ridicule and abuse from the discerning public who often took along rotten fruit and vegetables with which to pelt him during his performances!
He earned his place in literary folk history for his sheer tenacity and self-belief - no amount of ridicule could deter him from his divine mission to share his awful poetry with mankind and he has achieved cult status.
The honour of "Knight of the White Elephant" was bestowed on him for services to poetry by King Theebaw of Burmah and the Andaman Islands and following his death in 1902, the local newspaper in his hometown of Dundee referred to him as "Poet Laureate of the Silvery Tay" in their obituary.
"Ode to Sunlight Soap" By William McGonagall
William McGonagall's best-paid piece of work was his "Ode to Sunlight Soap", for which he was paid two guineas.
Here's an extract from the aforementioned masterpiece:
"You can use it with great pleasure and ease
Without wasting any elbow grease:
And when washing the most dirty clothes
The sweat won't be dripping from your nose
And I tell you once again without any joke
There's no soap can surpass Sunlight Soap."
William McGonagall Poems: "The Attempted Assassination Of Queen Victoria"
McGonagall chronicles an historical event in his very own inimitable style!
curated content from YouTube
William McGonagall, Poet And Actor
Willie McGonagall - poet, actor and the epitome of modesty and self-effacement...NOT!
William McGonagall was one of the first practitioners of what nowadays would be called "performance art".
He toured extensively, proclaiming his poems in a typically "dramatic" style. His appearances frequently caused near riots, with eager audience members vying with each other to reward his efforts with jeers and catcalls and to pelt him with rotten fruit, vegetables and eggs.
Like a true showman however, McGonagall soldiered resolutely on...no adverse crowd reaction ever dented his complete faith in his own talents!
McGonagall also considered himself to be a fine actor. Unfortunately, finding himself alone in this belief, he had to resort to sharing his acting talents with the world by paying theatres to let him perform as an actor. On one notable occasion he appeared in the title role of "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare at a theatre in Dundee. Despite the play reaching it's natural conclusion involving Macbeth's death during a swordfight at the hands of Macduff, McGonagall, feeling that the actor playing Macduff had tried to upstage him throughout the performance, simply refused to die and carried on the swordfight until the actor playing Macduff was exhausted...he received a standing ovation from the crowd on this occasion!
He toured extensively, proclaiming his poems in a typically "dramatic" style. His appearances frequently caused near riots, with eager audience members vying with each other to reward his efforts with jeers and catcalls and to pelt him with rotten fruit, vegetables and eggs.
Like a true showman however, McGonagall soldiered resolutely on...no adverse crowd reaction ever dented his complete faith in his own talents!
McGonagall also considered himself to be a fine actor. Unfortunately, finding himself alone in this belief, he had to resort to sharing his acting talents with the world by paying theatres to let him perform as an actor. On one notable occasion he appeared in the title role of "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare at a theatre in Dundee. Despite the play reaching it's natural conclusion involving Macbeth's death during a swordfight at the hands of Macduff, McGonagall, feeling that the actor playing Macduff had tried to upstage him throughout the performance, simply refused to die and carried on the swordfight until the actor playing Macduff was exhausted...he received a standing ovation from the crowd on this occasion!
William McGonagall's Most Famous Poem: "The Tay Bridge Disaster"
"The Tay Bridge Disaster" performed by The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - it certainly has been remembered for a very long time!
curated content from YouTube
People And Things Influenced By William McGonagall
McGonagall has many famous fans...
- In the Harry Potter books, author J.K Rowling named the Scottish Professor of Transfiguration, Minerva McGonagall after William McGonagall
- The late, great British comedian Spike Milligan was a great McGonagall fan and used to perform readings of McGonagall's poems. In "The Goon Show" he invented a character called "McGoonagall" and he even made a 1974 film called "The Great McGonagall" in which he played William McGonagall. Milligan also wrote about McGonagall's life in his novel "William McGonagall - the Truth at Last".
- Discworld author Terry Pratchett paid homage to William McGonagall's poems in his book, "The Wee Free Men". In it, the Nac Mac Feegle have a battle poet, or Gonnagle, who scares away the enemy by reciting his terrible poetry at them!
- Episode 16 of Monty Python's Flying Circus features a McGonagall style poet called Ewan McTeagle whose literary outpourings consist solely of requests for money along the lines of; "Oh give to me a shillin' for some fags and I'll pay yet back on Thursday, but if you wait till Saturday I'm expecting a divvy from the Harpenden Building Society"
- Legendary comedian and fellow Scot, Billy Connolly is a big fan of McGonagall and recited "The Tay Bridge Disaster" during a blizzard for his 1994 "World Tour Of Scotland" TV series
Billy Connolly Reads William McGonagall's Epic Poem, "The Tay Bridge Disaster"
Comedian Billy Connolly gives a stirring rendition of "The Tay Bridge Disaster" by William McGonagall whilst contending with a blizzard!
powered by Youtube
Three Reasons To Love William McGonagall!
Why William McGonagall is a legend...
* McGonagall is considered to be "Scotland's Other National Bard". He's almost as beloved as Robert Burns...* McGonagall took self-confidence and belief in his own inate talent to epic proportions and you've got to admire his tenacity - if I got pelted with rotten vegetables I'd take a hint :)
* He may be considered the world's worst poet but his writings are still in print over a century after his death - that's a pretty amazing achievement!
* Image of William McGonagall used under a Creative Commons licence from Leo Reynolds
William McGonagall Poems - "The Little Match Girl"
William McGonagall "The Little Match Girl" animated poem
curated content from YouTube
William McGonagall Poems - "The Moon"
"The Moon" - a poem by William McGonagall
curated content from YouTube
William McGonagall Memorial
William McGonagall, Poet and Tragedian
Unappreciated in his own lifetime, William McGonagall died peniless in 1902.
He was buried in an unmarked grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.
In 1999, a memorial tablet was erected in his memory in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
The stone is inscribed;
WILLIAM McGONAGALL
POET AND TRAGEDIAN
Died 2nd September 1902
Buried near this spot
"I am your gracious Majesty
ever faithful to Thee,
William McGonagall, the Poor Poet,
That lives in Dundee"
W. McG 6th Sept. 1877
McGonagall Memorial photo used under Creative Commons from tigerweet
Are You A Fan Of William McGonagall?
Only someone with a heart of stone could fail to be moved by the sheer awesomeness of Willie McGonagall...
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Read William McGonagall's Most Famous Poems
* William McGonagall Collected Poems shown above available from Amazon.co.uk
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The Tay Bridge Disaster
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To The Rev George Gilfillan
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4
Loch Leven
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5
The Famous Tay Whale
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The Rattling Boy from Dublin
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Adventures of King Robert the Bruce
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An Address to the New Tay Bridge
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The Battle of Bannockburn
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11
An Ode To The Queen
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15
The Newport Railway
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Forget-Me-Not
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An Autumn Reverie
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Saving a Train
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Jottings of New York
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The Newport Railway
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The Collected Poems Of William McGonagall
William McGonagall poetry collections available from Amazon.co.uk
William McGonagall Collected Poems (Paperback)
McGonagall: A Selection (Paperback)
The Comic Legend of William McGonagall: A Pictorial Story
by Charles Nasmyth (Author, Illustrator)
William McGonagall poetry collections available from Amazon.com
William McGonagall Poetry Links
Read his poems, learn about his life and marvel at the marvellousness of all things McGonagall!
- William Topaz McGonagall-Poet and Tragedian
- William McGonagall is Dundee's best remembered nobody. He was a man without talent who thought he was a great poet and tragedian and only needed an opportunity to prove it!
- McGonagall Online
- A tribute to the great poet and tragedian of Dundee, the only place on the internet where you can find his full autobiography
- Bard of the Silv'ry Tay - guardian.co.uk
- James Campbell makes the case for the nation's second most famous poet. Though mocked and reviled, the verse of William McGonagall has endured
- William McGonagall: Scotland's Other National Bard - Article Page 1
- BBC - Legacies - Myths and Legends - Scotland - Perth and Tayside - William McGonagall: Scotland's Other National Bard
Willie McGonagall Buzz!
More than 100 years after his death, people are still talking about William McGonagall - now that's REAL celebrity for you!
- Edinburgh Burns' Day Round-up
- No, not William McGonagall, the other one. Burns' night festivites get going in earnest on Tuesday evening. The West Port Book Festival are hosting a Burns Karaoke, inviting all comers to sing for their supper in the Captains Bar. It's sure to be fun, ...
- Idyllic setting for inspired writing
- In the intimate weekend workshop from May 4-6, Professor Manhire will present readings - including an evening recital "Beyond William McGonagall - the greatest bad poems of all time "; writing challenges and much stimulation of the creative juices.
- Need some Burns Night inspiration?
- Then what are your thoughts on his fellow countryman poet William McGonagall? Widely regarded as Britain's worst published poet, his readings of his poetry were regarded (possibly with irony) as a form of Music Hall-style comic entertainment, ...
- England Prepares For Scottish Independence
- Indeed,' he added, with wild eyes bulging and voice rising to a crescendo, 'if Scootlund isnae independent within tois years, Ah will progress tae th' works ay William McGonagall!!' British Prime Minister, David Cameron, immediately released a ...
William McGonagall On Twitter
Tweets about William McGonagall
McGonagall Mumblings!
Well...what do you think of McGonagall and his writing? World's worst poet or a genius? Tell us your thoughts...
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Aug 12, 2011 @ 1:40 am | delete
- From the few poems here, I think I agree with you about him being the worst poet.
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singlemaltdram
Aug 8, 2011 @ 8:49 pm | delete
- fantastic lens! I'd never heard of McGonagall before, surely he cant be the WORST poet ever? maybe. good for him though, good for him.
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lovelylashes
Apr 17, 2011 @ 12:38 pm | delete
- I love the way you wrote this...you captured his wonderful weirdness! I think McGonagall sounds like a very interesting and fun guy. Thanks for sharing!
Blessed by a SquidAngel.
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LKW31
Dec 31, 2010 @ 5:28 am | delete
- What a wonderfully eccentric man! I had never heard of McGonagall before and loved this lens, I will have to find out more about him now!
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Lemming13 Oct 31, 2010 @ 5:10 pm | delete
- One afterthought - would have added Ode on the Attempted Assassination of Queen Victoria to the Famous Poems list but I couldn't find a link. Got to be one of his best. For God He turned the ball aside MacLean aimed at her head, And he was very angry That he didn't shoot her dead...
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CDT
Nov 1, 2010 @ 10:25 am | delete
- There's a YouTube video of that one on this page complete with the text of this awesome poem :)
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Lemming13 Oct 31, 2010 @ 5:07 pm | delete
- OOh beautiful Giant Squid known as CDT,
A MacGonagall fan gives thanks to thee,
For creating a lens about the Scottish bard
Who's better than Burns because he makes me laugh so hard.
Non-poetically, thanks indeed; Milligan introduced me to the Great MacGonagall, and the man's bloody-minded determination has been an inspiration ever since.
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CDT
Nov 1, 2010 @ 10:12 am | delete
- Ah most gracious Lemming13,
Of all the Squids she is indeed a Queen
Who has such taste as has never before been seen
To admire the works of Willie McGonagall
Requires sheer bravery...and all!!!
:)
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drifter0658
Sep 30, 2010 @ 4:12 pm | delete
- Aye...there be hope for me yet! Live on McGonagall and give us lad swho extort the muses a fighting chance...
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thesuccess
Sep 29, 2010 @ 8:49 am | delete
- Are any of his poems considered OK?
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CDT
Sep 29, 2010 @ 10:20 am | delete
- McGonagall's poems are considered classics...but not in the conventional sense :)
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susannaduffy
Sep 5, 2010 @ 7:41 am | delete
- I just had to revisit this again and revel in the appalling rhymes of William McGonagall. On the odd occasion I've been struck with the spirit of poetry too, but I've sobered up the next morning.
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garyr_h
Mar 9, 2010 @ 9:04 pm | delete
- Definitely agree with Twmarsh on this. An interesting person, to say the least.
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Twmarsh
Jun 25, 2008 @ 11:29 am | delete
- An interesting individual indeed. Great 5 star lens!
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William McGonagall - The Worst Poet In History!
Willie McGonagall - The World's Worst Poet
- William Topaz McGonagall: Scotland's Other National Bard!
- "Ode to Sunlight Soap" By William McGonagall
- William McGonagall Poems: "The Attempted Assassination Of Queen Victoria"
- William McGonagall, Poet And Actor
- William McGonagall's Most Famous Poem: "The Tay Bridge Disaster"
- People And Things Influenced By William McGonagall
- Billy Connolly Reads William McGonagall's Epic Poem, "The Tay Bridge Disaster"
- Three Reasons To Love William McGonagall!
- William McGonagall Poems - "The Little Match Girl"
- William McGonagall Poems - "The Moon"
- William McGonagall Memorial
- Are You A Fan Of William McGonagall?
- Read William McGonagall's Most Famous Poems
- The Collected Poems Of William McGonagall
- William McGonagall Poetry Links
- Willie McGonagall Buzz!
- William McGonagall On Twitter
- McGonagall Mumblings!
- Word of the Day
- Calling All William McGonagall Fans!
by CDT
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Listen To The Poems Of William McGonagall
The awesome poetry of William McGonagall read by comic actor, Gregor Fisher (better known as "Rab C. Nesbitt")!
The Great Poets: William McGonagall
Amazon Price: $4.95 (as of 02/17/2012)
