Who is William McGonagall

In his autobiography, McGonagall describes how his muse struck him; "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.

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!

William Topaz McGonagall (1825 - 29 September 1902) was a Scottish weaver, actor and poet. He is comically renowned as one of the worst poets in the English language.

Born in Edinburgh, of Irish parentage, McGonagall was working as a handloom weaver in Dundee, Scotland when an event occurred that was to change his life. As he was later to write:

"The most startling incident in my life was the time I discovered myself to be a poet, which was in the year 1877."

It was with this that he wrote his first poem An Address to the Rev. George Gilfillan, which showed all the hallmarks that would characterise his later work. Gilfillan commented "Shakespeare never wrote anything like this."

McGonagall has been widely acclaimed as the worst poet in British history. The chief criticisms of his poetry are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. In the hands of lesser artists, this might simply generate dull, uninspiring verse. However, McGonagall's fame stems from the humorous effects these shortcomings generate. The inappropriate rhythms, weak vocabulary, and ill-advised imagery combine to make his work amongst the most spontaneously amusing comic poetry in the English language.

Of the 200 or so poems that he wrote, the most famous is probably The Tay Bridge Disaster, which recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it.

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.
(Modern sources give the death toll as 75.)

One commentator remarked that "a lesser poet (one should note that the German poet Theodor Fontane did write a poem about this event as well) would have thought it was a good idea to write a poem about the Tay Bridge disaster. A lesser poet would have thought of conveying the shock of the people of Dundee. But only the true master could come up with a couplet like:

And the cry rang out all round the town,
Good heavens! The Tay Bridge has blown down."

McGonagall had previously written a poem in praise of the Tay Bridge: The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay "With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array". Once the new replacement bridge had been built, without the least feeling of irony, he proceeded to compose an ode to the new construction: An Address to the New Tay Bridge "Strong enough all windy storms to defy".

He also campaigned vigorously against excessive drinking, appearing in pubs and bars to give edifying poems and speeches. These were very popular, the people of Dundee possibly recognising that McGonagall was "so giftedly bad he backed unwittingly into genius".

"Poet-baiting" became a popular pastime in Dundee, but McGonagall seemed oblivious to the general opinion of his poems, even when his audience were pelting him with eggs and vegetables. It is possible, however, that he was shrewder than he is given credit for, and was playing along to his audience's perception of him, in effect making his recitals an early form of performance art.

McGonagall also considered himself an actor, although the theatre where he performed, Mr Giles' Theatre, would only let him perform the title role in Macbeth if he paid for the privilege in advance. Their caution proved ill-founded however, as the theatre was filled with friends and fellow workers, anxious to see what they correctly predicted to be an amusing disaster. Although the play should have ended with Macbeth's death at the hands of Macduff, McGonagall believed that the actor playing Macduff was trying to upstage him, and so refused to die.

In 1892, following the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, he walked from Dundee to Balmoral, a distance of about 60 miles over mountainous terrain and through a violent thunderstorm, "wet to the skin", to ask Queen Victoria if he might be considered for the post of Poet Laureate. Unfortunately, he was informed the Queen was not in residence, and returned home. In 1894, representatives of King Thibaw Min of Burma knighted him as Sir Topaz, Knight of the White Elephant of Burmah, a title he used in his advertising.

He died penniless in 1902 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh. A grave-slab installed to his memory in 1999 is inscribed:

William McGonagall
'Poet and Tragedian
"I am your gracious Majesty
ever faithful to Thee,
William McGonagall, the Poor Poet,
That lives in Dundee."

Read the rest of the Wikipedia article at; Wikipedia article - William McGonagall

* 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 :)

* His poems are so damn funny...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!

William McGonagall Collected Poems

Thousands of people the world over have enjoyed the verse of Scotland's alternative national poet. This volume brings together the three famous collections - "Poetic Gems", "More Poetic Gems" and "Last Poetic Gems", and includes all the valuable autobiographical material which appeared in the original volumes. It includes all his most famous works, as well as previously unpublished poems.

McGonagall:
A Selection

Contains highlights from McGonagall's work, arranged by theme, and with an introduction and notes to set the poet and poems in their historical context.

William McGonagall:
The Truth at Last

William McGonagall: The Truth at Last (Paperback)
by Spike Milligan (Author), Jack Hobbs (Author)

Humorous "biography" of William McGonagall by British comic legend, the late Spike Milligan (in collaboration with Jack Hobbs).

The Comic Legend of William McGonagall

The Comic Legend of William McGonagall (Hardcover)
by Charles Nasmyth (Author, Illustrator)

The Comic Legend of William McGonagall" by Charles Nasmyth - with an introduction by Richard Demarco, Scotland's most influential advocate for contemporary art - is a part-satirical, part-factual collection which illustrates the legend and poetry of the maligned Edinburgh-born Dundonian owing as much to the Broons and Oor Wullie comic strip artist Dudley Watkins as it does to William Blake and the Surrealists. Combining the absurd with elements of social satire and artistic parody, the illustrations, a series of 36 paintings, depict McGonagall in a range of roles and settings, from a romantic partner to Marilyn Monroe to an enemy of Hitler, providing a fascinating portrayal of the poet and his unconventional verse in a quite unique collection.

Most people have got something to say...something they know quite a lot about...something they love...

Why not share your interests with everyone else by making a Squidoo lens of your own!

It's FREE...and you DON'T need to know lots of complicated stuff about setting up webpages. Squidoo makes having your own little corner of the internet very easy...

If you'd like to have a go at creating a lens of your own click here to get started on Squidoo!

Happy Squidooing!