William Topaz McGonagall
http://www.scotland-placestovisit.com/twv//articles/209/1/William-Topaz-McGonagall-/Page1.html
By Vikara
Published on 19/05/2009
William
Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902) was imbued with unshakeable faith in his
abilities and a fixity of purpose that meant he never gave up his muse
no matter how his audience reacted. Starting his life as a
weaver, William developed in middle age a conviction that his gift must
be shared with the world.
Scotland's Alternative Poet
William Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902) was imbued with unshakeable faith in his abilities and a fixity of purpose th
at meant he never gave up his muse
no matter how his audience reacted.
Starting his life as a weaver, William developed in middle age a conviction that his gift for poetry must be shared with the world. Unfortunately the world saw him as the butt of its humour and he was engaged so that he could be made a fool of at social gatherings. For instance he was teetotal but his drinks were frequently spiked with alcohol.
Though his poetry is different and not held in such high esteem as Robert Burns', he has earned a place of respect amongst scholars, essayists and the public for an unflagging and indomitable spirit that took him to Balmoral by foot to see the Queen. It was a trip of fifty miles on foot and he was stopped at the gate. He was soon lured down to London lured by false invitations, after which he travelled to New York where he quickly appealed to a benefactor from Dundee to get him home.
He wrote many poems but the most famous is probably The Tay Bridge Disaster, which recounts the events of the evening of 28th December 1879 when during a severe gale the Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train travelled 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.
He had an indomitable spirit and will be remembered a long time after other far better (but indifferent) poets are forgotten.
Scottish poet, Alexander Hawkesville, recounts a humorous interlude involving McGonagall in his (Mr Hawkesville's) poem, And McGonagall Widnae Die. It revolves around a time when McGonagall decided to perform MacBeth at Mr Giles's Theatre in Dundee. McGonagall himself played MacDuff. The performance went as planned up to the moment that MacDuff is expected to die. Unfortunately by this point McGonagall had become so envious by the acting abilities of the actor playing MacBeth that he refused to die. Click here to read And McGonagall Widnae Die. Click here to view Mr Hawkesville performing the poem at the Cumnock Music Festival. Poem and video by kind permission of Mr Hawkesville. The poem and video are under the following Licence, Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 UK: Scotland.
William Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902) was imbued with unshakeable faith in his abilities and a fixity of purpose th
at meant he never gave up his muse
no matter how his audience reacted.Starting his life as a weaver, William developed in middle age a conviction that his gift for poetry must be shared with the world. Unfortunately the world saw him as the butt of its humour and he was engaged so that he could be made a fool of at social gatherings. For instance he was teetotal but his drinks were frequently spiked with alcohol.
Though his poetry is different and not held in such high esteem as Robert Burns', he has earned a place of respect amongst scholars, essayists and the public for an unflagging and indomitable spirit that took him to Balmoral by foot to see the Queen. It was a trip of fifty miles on foot and he was stopped at the gate. He was soon lured down to London lured by false invitations, after which he travelled to New York where he quickly appealed to a benefactor from Dundee to get him home.
He wrote many poems but the most famous is probably The Tay Bridge Disaster, which recounts the events of the evening of 28th December 1879 when during a severe gale the Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train travelled 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.
He had an indomitable spirit and will be remembered a long time after other far better (but indifferent) poets are forgotten.
Scottish poet, Alexander Hawkesville, recounts a humorous interlude involving McGonagall in his (Mr Hawkesville's) poem, And McGonagall Widnae Die. It revolves around a time when McGonagall decided to perform MacBeth at Mr Giles's Theatre in Dundee. McGonagall himself played MacDuff. The performance went as planned up to the moment that MacDuff is expected to die. Unfortunately by this point McGonagall had become so envious by the acting abilities of the actor playing MacBeth that he refused to die. Click here to read And McGonagall Widnae Die. Click here to view Mr Hawkesville performing the poem at the Cumnock Music Festival. Poem and video by kind permission of Mr Hawkesville. The poem and video are under the following Licence, Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 UK: Scotland.