Resources for McGonagall, William in Arts/Authors/M/

William Topaz McGonagall-Poet and Tragedian

Our sister site courtesy of our sponsor Meet Heather Henderson New Members Page Dundee City Council McGonagall Site Admiral Adam Duncan - Hero of Camperdown Annual General Meeting Library Catalogue Members Poetic Gems On- Line Newsletter Gord Bambrick's McGonagall Site McGonagall's Great, Great Grandaughter The McGonagall Family Tree In the man's own hand !
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All his poems have been published and so are there to be judged: they have, if nothing else, the quality of inimitability.
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He claims a place on library shelves because his indomitable spirit appealed to authors and essayists.
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The streets of New York were not paved with gold for him, and in no time he was appealing to a Dundee benefactor to get him back home.
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To London, then by sea, lured by forged invitations and, to cap it all, to New York, crossing the ocean in the steerage class and arriving with eight shillings.
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He was born in Edinburgh in 1825 and grew up in Dundee, to which his father moved in search of work.
www.taynet.co.uk/users/mcgon

William McGonagall - The World's 'Best Bad Poet'

Walk into him!" And so I did until he (Macduff) was in great rage, and stamped his foot, and cried out "Fool! why don't you fall?" And when I did fall, the cry was "McGonagall!
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The "tragedian" side of McGonagall's fame is not equal to the poetry, but he has the distinction of being the only double entry in Stephen Pile's Book of Heroic Failures, as both "The Worst British Poet" and "The Worst Macbeth." The latter derives from a performance made possible by McGonagall's shopmates at the Seafield Handloom Works in Dundee, who anted up a cash guarantee to a local theater owner and attended the premiere in great numbers.
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On the statue of Robbie Burns (first in the ploughman-poet line and so, some say, to blame for McGonagall): Fellow-citizens, this Statue seems most beautiful to the eye, Which would cause Kings and Queens for such a one to sigh, And make them feel envious while passing by In fear of not getting such a beautiful Statue after they die.
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According to McGonagall's autobiography, their enthusiasm encouraged his Macbeth to push Macduff to his limits in Act V, and beyond: I continued the combat until he was fairly exhausted, and there was one old gentleman in the audience cried out: "Well done, McGonagall!
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On the lesson provided by the collapse of the Tay Railway Bridge: ...Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay, I must now conclude my lay By telling the world fearlessly without least dismay, That your central girders would not have given way, At least many sensible men do say, Had they been supported on each side with buttresses, At least many sensible men confesses, For the stronger we our houses do build, The less chance we have of being killed.
www.todayinliterature.com/stories.asp?Event_Date=9/29/1902

William McGonagall Information, Videos, Pictures and News

The family settled in Dundee while William was still a boy, and he lived there for the rest of his life.
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It would be cruel for me to abuse both your auditory and visual senses. the tay bridge disaster william mcgonagall horrible histories terry deary wordsworth An Address to the Rev.
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William mcgonagall poetry Frank Farrell train poem comedy IS THIS ENGLAND'S NEW WILLIAM MCGONAGALL PART TWOCOMEDY COMEDY POETRY HUMOUR WILLIAMMCGONAGELL NEWPOETRY PARISJEAN COMEDIENNE FEMALECOMEDIENE ORIGINALCOMEDY NEWTALENT Burns Night, Victoria Inn, Colchester 25-01-12 "The Tay BriBurns Night at The Victoria Inn, Colchester, Essex - 2012 Mr Tony Smith, eloquently delivering the famous William McGonagall Poem 'The Tay Bridge Disaster'.
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A fitting tribute for a poem not performed for over 100 years.
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It was always a matter of great regret for him that he never was made Poet Laureate.
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McGonagall always speaks personally in a highly dignified but still working-class voice.
www.rtbot.net/William_McGonagall

h2g2 - William McGonagall - Poet

By McGonagall's own account, the poem was '... received with eclat and [he] was pronounced by the Press the Poet Laureate of the Tay Bridge...'.And after that he never stopped.
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He also toured Scotland, England, and New York in the United States, giving public readings for which he charged admission.
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He died in 1902.As a grown man, he continued to work in the family trade, and married one Jean King in 1846.
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The Universe / The Earth / Europe / United Kingdom / Scotland / Edinburgh and Lothian2.
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The content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public.
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The Universe / The Earth / Europe / United Kingdom / Scotland / General Scotland3.
h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A416341

William McGonagall - The World's Worst Poet!

McGonagall is now renowned as one of the worst poets in the English language...but that hasn't stopped him attaining cult status!
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Tell us your thoughts... submit Reply 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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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.
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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!
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Poetic Gems Selected from the Works of William McGonagall (right) available from Amazon.co.uk William McGonagall was one of the first practitioners of what nowadays would be called "performance art".
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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.
www.squidoo.com/williammcgonagall

William McGonagall - Wikiquote

With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array And your central girders, which seem to the eye To be almost towering to the sky.
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William McGonagall - Wikiquote William McGonagall From Wikiquote Jump to: navigation, search William Topaz McGonagall (1825 – September 29, 1902) was a Scottish weaver, actor, and poet.
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"The Autobiography of Sir William Topaz McGonagall", published in the Weekly News McGonagall's "knighthood" was an honorary one conferred on him by King Theebaw of the Andaman Islands: "Knight of the White Elephant of Burmah".
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George Gilfillan (1877) 1.2 A Requisition to the Queen (1877) 1.3 The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay (1878) 1.4 The Tay Bridge Disaster (1880) 1.5 The Battle of Bannockburn 2 Other works 3 External links [edit] Poetry [edit] Lines in praise of the Rev.
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For your Kindness to the poor while they are in distress.
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I hope the Lord will protect you while living And hereafter when your Majesty is ... dead.
en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_McGonagall

William McGonagall Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

One of McGonagall's early poems celebrated the opening of the Tay Railway Bridge on 1 June 1878: Beautiful Railway Bridge of the silvery Tay, With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array, And your central girders which seem to the eye, To be almost towering to the sky.
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Until the age of 52, in 1877, McGonagall worked as a handloom weaver, with occasional diversions into amateur dramatics, and Shakespeare in particular.
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McGonagall's genius for self-publicity extended to his walking from Dundee to Balmoral after the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, to offer his services to Queen Victoria as poet laureate.
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And after a prophesy like that, it is hardly surprising that McGonagall returned to the subject, using the same opening line to make the link between the two poems, after the bridge collapsed while a train was crossing it only 18 months after it opened on 28 December 1879: Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!
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He then moved with his family to Dundee, the city that was to be his home until he moved to Edinburgh in 1895, where he lived above the Captains Bar in South College Street.
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She was, apparently, not at home, so he walked back to Dundee.
www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/mac/williammcgonagall.html

Poet: William Topaz McGonagall - All poems of William Topaz McGonagall

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William Topaz McGonagall :: English Language Poet :: English Poetry

George Gilfillan, which showed all the hallmarks that would characterise his later work.
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Gilfillan commented "Shakespeare never wrote anything like this." McGonagall has been widely acclaimed as the worst poet in British history.[1] The chief criticisms of his poetry are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly.
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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.
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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.
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Bard of the Silv'ry Tay A profile by James Campbell "The Great Mc Gonagall" A Skitful verse on his life written in his style!
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A character called McGoonagall frequently appears in The Goon Show, alternatively played by Milligan and Peter Sellers.
www.poet.me.uk/english-language-poets/William-Topaz-McGonagall.htm

William McGonagall - Library Catalogue

POETIC GEMS...selected works, preface by the Author, foreword by Billy Connolly.
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POETIC GEMS...selected works, biographical sketch and reminiscences by the Author.
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David Winter and Sons Ltd, 1968, 171 pages, hardback no cover, good condition.
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William McGonagall - Library Catalogue William Topaz McGonagall Appreciation Society Library Catalogue November 1997 Archivist Catalogue SELECT POEMS OF McGONAGALL...22 selected poems, preface, editor's observations.
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THE ENDLESS SEARCH...by Anna MacDonald, a collection of poems, limericks and nonsense verse gifted to the Society by the Author.
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MORE POETIC GEMS...76 further poems, biographical sketch and reminiscences by the Author.
www.taynet.co.uk/users/mcgon/bglink4.htm

The Great Poets – William McGonagall (selections)

So he determined to travel to prove he could make a living elsewhere.
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Even now, over a century after his death, there are new biographies, collections and websites devoted to him (in particular the comprehensive ones by Chris Hunt).
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But then, they don’t have his particular genius.
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In 1894, needing to find a new audience, McGonagall left Dundee, settling first in Perth.
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He was also always very polite and generous; a gentle man.
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But despite his propensity for disaster – or at least writing about it – McGonagall covered many subjects.
www.naxosaudiobooks.com/189312.htm

William Topaz McGonagall - Definition | WordIQ.com

Moore External links McGonagall Online (http:// www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk) The Real McGonagall (http://members.rogers.com/ mcgonagall/essay.htm) gives a different interpretation of McGonagall's work, suggesting he was a deliberate satirist.
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George Gilfillan, which showed all the hallmarks that would characterise his latter work.
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Contents 1 Life and poetry 2 McGonagall in popular culture 3 See also 4 External links Life and poetry Born in Edinburgh, of Irish parentage, he was working as handloom weaver in Dundee when an event occurred that was to change his life.
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These were very popular, the people of Dundee possibly recognising that McGonnagall was "so giftedly bad he backed unwittingly into genius" (Stephen Pile, The Book of Heroic Failures).
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"The Great McGonagall" at IMDB.com William Topaz McGonagall's name was also inspiration for the name of Minerva McGonagall, a fictional character in J.
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McGonagall - Example Usage cassie_lovegood: @MuggleNet #mugglemarchmadness Luna vs bella Dumbledore vs McGonagall.
www.wordiq.com/definition/William_Topaz_McGonagall

William Topaz McGonagall - Cordula's Web - A Tribute to Cordula ...

A character called McGoonagall frequently appears in The Goon Show, alternatively played by Milligan and Peter Sellers.
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(However, there is a theory 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.
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William Topaz McGonagall - Cordula's Web < > William Topaz McGonagall PoemsThe Little Match Girl   (en)   William Topaz McGonagall (1825 - 29 September 1902) was a Scottish weaver, actor, and poet.
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Their caution proved ill-founded, as the theatre was filled with friends and fellow workers, anxious to see what they correctly predicted to be an amusing disaster.
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Although the play 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 (William McGonagall, World's Worst Poet: Selections from "Poetic Gems", Templegate Publishers, 1992.) In 1892, following the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, he visited Balmoral, to ask Queen Victoria if he might be considered for the post of poet laureate.
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The Tay Bridge has blown down." McGonagall also campaigned vigorously against excessive drinking, appearing in pubs and bars to give edifying poems and speeches.
www.cordula.ws/authors/mcgonagallw.html

William McGonagall, Reputedly the World's Worst Poet | Suite101.com

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He is commemorated by a plaque on the wall of the city’s Greyfriars Kirkyard.The Poems of William McGonagallMcGonagall wrote over 200 poems during his lifetime: readers today find them struggling with scansion and clumsy rhymes and it is probable that most of his contemporary readers and listeners found them so, too.
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He spent his early life in Edinburgh and Orkney before settling in Dundee.
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Advertisement Read This Next William Wordsworth, Poet Laureate, and his Dove Cottage home.
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I am very sorry to sayThat ninety lives have been taken awayOn the last Sabbath day of 1879,Which will be remember'd for a very long time’.As a poet, McGonagall amuses, rather than moves, his readers.
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It’s quite an achievement to be known as the world’s worst poet; but that’s a description which comes up in almost every article about the nineteenth century Scotsman William McGonagall.
jennifer-young.suite101.com/william-mcgonagall-reputedly-the...

William McGonagall - The Full Wiki - Students, get citable ...

Connolly also read The Tay Bridge Disaster in the middle of a blizzard.
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The arrangement calls for a narrator (at the premiere the narrator was Edith Evans), full orchestra, a fog horn, and an espresso machine.
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(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.
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Original Tay Bridge (from the South) the day after the disaster.
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George Gilfillan, which showed all the hallmarks that would characterise his later work.
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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.
www.thefullwiki.org/William_McGonagall

Open Directory - Arts: Literature: Authors: M: McGonagall, William

William McGonagall: White Elephant - Lengthy article about the man from Scotland Magazine.
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  about dmoz | dmoz blog | suggest URL | update listing | become an editor | report abuse/spam | help the entire directory only in M/McGonagall,_William Description Top : Arts: Literature: Authors: M : McGonagall, William (25) Open Directory - Arts: Literature: Authors: M: McGonagall, William Parodies (3) See also: Arts: Literature: World Literature: Scottish (160) All hail McGonagall, in verse there were few worse - Biographical article and quotes, from Australian newspaper The Age.
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Review from ciao.co.uk Inadvertent Doggerel - "A celebration of a particular feature of Victorian literature — accidental trash poetry".
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Grossly Maligned and Misunderstood - "William McGonagall is one of the 19th century's true life tragic romantic heroes - especially so because he was blissfully unaware of the fact!".
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William McGonagall - Poet - Concise article describing McGonagall's life and work from the BBC h2g2 site.
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The Great McGonagall - Biographical article from Canadian website "Brigadoonery".
www.dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Authors/M/McGonagall,_William

Worst Poet Ever: William McGonagall - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

A Scot by birth and a poet by choice, McGonagall is infamous in certain parts of the UK for being without question the single worst poet in the English language.
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He was welcomed with great enthusiasm when he read his poetry at the university.
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One might well consider that McGonagall's poetry is the artistic analogy of the job Bush has done as leader of the free world.
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McGonagall was even forced to sneak out of Dundee under the cover of night just to avoid further abuse.
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44 years after her suic...The Talented and Gifted Poet Yours Truly Saikat Kumar DuttaSaikat Kumar Dutta is a very fine gifted poet that has a heart of pure goldThe Goals of Poet Naomi AyalaNaomi Ayala is a nomad, a poet, and an inspiration to Latino and Latina creativity.A Short Conversation with Poet Kit FryattSabne Raznik interviews poet and friend Kit Fryatt.
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It was the worst poet in the England language's religious verse that finally brought him into print.
voices.yahoo.com/article/952291/worst_poet_ever_william_mcgonagall...

William McGonagall on Robert Burns - Books From Scotland

There can be no denying that William McGonagall was a bad poet, yet his name and his poems persist in the Scottish national memory.
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I must conclude my muse To speak in praise of thee does not refuse, For you were a mighty poet, few could with you compare, And also an honour to Scotland, for your genius it is rare £6.79 Poetic Gems - William McGonagall - Paperback The Victorian poet William McGonagall was known as the greatest bad verse writer of his age, but was sustained throughout his career by a belief in his own genius.
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Your "Banks and Braes of Bonnie Doon" Is sweet and melodious in its tune, And the poetry is moral and sublime, And in my opinion nothing can be more fine.
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His poems are often unintentionally funny, even when tackling such serious subjects as the Tay Bridge disaster.
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Your "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled" Is most beautiful to hear sung or read; For your genius there does shine as bright, Like unto the stars of night Immortal Bard of Ayr!
www.booksfromscotland.com/Features/Poetry/William-McGonagall

William Topaz McGonagall, the Dundee Bard or the world's best bad poet

The longest of the present day That has ever crossed o'er a tidal river stream, Most gigantic to be seen, Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
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King Edward brought numerous waggons in his train, Expecting that most of the Scottish army would be slain, Hoping to make the rest prisoners, and carry them away In waggon-loads to London without delay.
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With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array And your central girders, which seem to the eye To be almost towering to the sky.
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Bruce stationed himself at the head of the reserve, Determined to conquer, but never to swerve, And by his side were brave Kirkpatrick and true De Longueville, Both trusty warriors, firm and bold, who would never him beguile.
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Then King Edward ordered his horsemen to charge, Thirty thousand in number, it was very large; They thought to o'erwhelm them ere they could rise from their knees, But they met a different destiny, which did them displease; For the horsemen fell into the spik'd pits in the way, And, with broken ranks and confusion, they all fled away, But few of them escap'd death from the spik'd pits, For the Scots with their swords hack'd them to bits; De Valence was overthrown and carried off the field, Then King Edward he thought it was time to yield.
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William also considered himself an actor, although the theatre where he was to perform would only let him deliver the title role in Macbeth if he paid up-front for the privilege.
www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/William-McGonagall...

William McGonagall: Quixote of the North

Because he had no imagination, he had no insight into what makes a poem in the first place, so he hung everything on a would-be exalted tone, and the obsessive pursuit of rhyme.
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Since he had neither ear nor intellect, naturally the result was appalling.
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See how, in ‘The Tay Whale’, he’s inexorably drawn to the ridiculous detail: Oh! it was a most fearful and beautiful sight,To see it lashing the water with its tail all its might,And making the water ascend like a shower of hail,With one lash of its ugly and mighty tail.
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Dundee: home of the Twa Corpses, McGonagall and The Courier.
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Instead, after a couple of days, he came all the way back, just in time for the new railbridge: The New Yorkers boast about their Brooklyn Bridge,But in comparison to thee it seems like a midge… Then, famously, he walked to Balmoral to see the Queen.
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It also confirms that his real claim on our attention is not his work, but his biography.
www.xen19.dial.pipex.com/mcgonagall.htm