William Topaz McGonagall, Poet of the People

Thu, Aug 1st 2019 at 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Ian Flett - Poet of the People


William Topaz McGonagall (March 1825 – 29 September 1902) was a Scottish weaver, poet and actor. He won notoriety as an extremely bad poet who exhibited no recognition of, or concern for, his peers' opinions of his work.
He wrote about 200 poems, including "The Tay Bridge Disaster" and "The Famous Tay Whale", which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature. Groups throughout Scotland engaged him to make recitations from his work, and contemporary descriptions of these performances indicate that many listeners were appreciating McGonagall's skill as a comic music hall character. Collections of his verse remain popular, with several volumes available today. 
McGonagall has been lampooned as the worst poet in British history. The chief criticisms are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. His only apparent understanding of poetry was his belief that it needed to rhyme. McGonagall's fame stems from the humorous effects these shortcomings are considered to generate in his work. Scholars argue that his inappropriate rhythms, weak vocabulary, and ill-advised imagery combine to make his work amongst the most unintentionally amusing dramatic poetry in the English language. His work is in a long tradition of narrative ballads and verse written and published about great events and tragedies, and widely circulated among the local population as handbills. In an age before radio and television, their voice was one way of communicating important news to an avid public.

Jonathan StewartContact Jonathan Stewart about this page:

(ALL fields required)

(If you are a Rotarian, please name your club.)

'What We Do' Main Pages:

A few questions about Rotary

more  
Rotarians and VIP guests gather at the Invercarse Hotel to celebrate the Club’s centenary

The Rotary Club of Dundee was founded in 1921 and has recently celebrated its Century of Service

more  

If you’d like to get involved with Rotary, then we'd love to hear from you!

more  
Grant Application

Applications for assistance from Rotary to improve the lives of people living in our area welcome from any source

more  
Maxwell Community Garden Project

A little taste of what Community Service do

more  

Meeting 3rd Tuesday

more  
Presentation to Broughty Ferry Lifeboat station

Fundraising work to provide the funds we need to assist our Communities

more  
RYLA 2022 candidates sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dundee

Youth opportunities in Dundee

more  
Dundee Rotaract donated this array of provisions to the Dundee Food Insecurity Network

The service, leadership, professional and community service organisation for young men and women .

more  

International Projects

more  
Civic Reception with Dundee’s Lord Provost to celebrate the Club’s centenary

The Rotary Club of Dundee came into being on May 19, 1921.

more  
PR

Public Image Committee

more