McGonagall: A Selection

by William McGonagall

William McGonagall's poetry is undeniably dreadful, always sinking into new depths just as it seems to have hit rock bottom. It is this inimitable multi-faceted awfulness which makes his work so memorably funny. Much of the humor in his verse is created by the magnificent ignorance of meter and rhyme. This edition features some of his most famous works as well as specially selected pieces of poetry which not only epitomize McGonagall's style, but reflect the preoccupations and concerns of the Victorian age that influenced him.

Genres: Poetry

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

He wrote about 200 poems, including his infamous "The Tay Bridge Disaster", which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature. Groups throughout Scotland engaged him to make recitations from his work; contemporary descriptions of these performances indicate that many listeners were appreciating McGonagall's skill as a comic music hall character, and his readings may be considered a form of performance art. Collections of his verse continue in popularity, with several volumes available today.

McGonagall has been acclaimed as the worst poet in British history. The chief criticisms are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. In the hands of lesser artists, this might generate dull, uninspiring verse. 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 unintentionally amusing dramatic poetry in the English language. His work is in a long tradition of verses 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.

He died penniless in 1902 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Julian Worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

William McGonagall would go to great lengths to achieve a rhyme and his poems are more like brief histories of the events they depict, quite vividly in most cases. I like the poems / histories and he does touch on some truths for example in his poem about Culloden

Prince Charles Stuart, of frame and renown
You might have worn Scotland's crown
If the Macdonalds and Glengarry at Culloden had proved true
But, being too ambitious for honour, that they didn't do

He was from a family of Irish story tellers and so it's no real surprise his poems were wordy, but they were informative all the same, conveying a context as well as a message.

[Jani · Rating 2 out of 5]

"William McGonagall, the worst poet in history", a lecturer said, and I was hooked. Or, well, at least bought his selected works soon after. Now I've read it twice and, while I do agree he can be quite horrific at times, I must profess that I find some satisfaction in reading this passionate man's questionable poetry.

The book picks some of the worst or best, however you see it, and divides them in to thematic sections. We get poems of praise, ones of disaster, and even ones against the negative effects of alcohol consumption introduced and given background to by Colin Walker. Along the way the reader is given a glimpse of the world that inspired such wretched (sic) lines.

And they are bad in many ways. McGonagall is obsessed with rhymes, but is not overtly good at them. So we get meandering lines that end in rhymes that repeat themselves sometimes even in the same poem. The images created also often more than subtle just as the mixed metaphors are plentiful.

Then again, McGonagall gained his fame in times when bad poetry was perhaps not as readily available in public. Now, with all kinds of internet sources filled with personal poetry, mistakenly brought into public eye, McGonagall does not look, if not as bad, but certainly not alone in his horribleness.

As I read the collection on and as I perhaps became used to his, well, style, I began to look upon William and, to a certain extent, his work in a more positive light. Beneath the horrid rhymes (not unlike ones that I've myself scribbled on some notebooks) lies a man (perhaps mistakenly) certain about his calling and seemingly deaf to any who sought to put him down. If nothing else, his works and actions display a passion that perhaps is missing from the works of some more "naturally talented" poets. I would never had the guts to print and distribute my poems and stubbornly decide to make my living through them despite the heckles. No, William was quite a special man to a certain unfortunate extent. Sadly, if he would live now, he would mostly likely be a reality television star or a source of memes.

Anyways, all these positive feelings about William, which were also helped by the sympathy for the underdog raised by Walker's constant and by the end repetitive jeers, almost made the poems seem better than their reputation affords them. Luckily, the last sections contained the wonderful "The Battle of El-Teb", whose beginning stanza reminded why McGonagall bears the title he has.

"YE sons of Great Britain, I think no shame
To write in praise of brave General Graham!
Whose name will be handed down to posterity without any stigma,
Because, at the battle of El-Teb, he defeated Osman Digna."

Ah, terrible beauty still lives.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often funny

Gimmick wears off

Simple highly literal poetry

Autobiographical notes more entertaining than poems frequently

[Lee Stodart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A master in his act, that few can comprehend his genius.

[Moira McPartlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Mcgonagal is reputed to be the worst published poet and his poems are pretty bad. This Birlinn book edited by Colin Walker agrees with that claim. As part biographical, the book introduces the reader to the Victorian era in which Mcgonagal lived and worked and explains the background to his poems. He was the first real performance poet and it is easy to see his appeal at that time, when he appeared more like a traveling newspaper reporter. In this context the poems are funny and very informative of the lives of Victorians. I read it in conjunction with a contemporary performance poet, Billy Letford, to add to the experience.

[I.m. Pliant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply the BEST POET EVER. No not Keats or Yeats or Bates (from Downton Abbey - keen amateur poet). McGonagall is exemplary in all respects and this his favourite poetry book of mine as it has a selection of his poems in it.