Scottish Poet William Topaz McGonagall
William
Topaz McGonagall (March 1825 – 29 September 1902) was
a Scottish weaver, actor, amateur poet, and performance
artist, today famous for being arguably the worst poet in
the English language. His performance art centred on his own
belief (apparently held sincerely and in good faith) that
his verse showed a high degree of verbal skill and talent.
Groups throughout Scotland engaged him to make recitations
from his works; these performances drew large audiences
which responded enthusiastically to McGonagall's poetic
lines.
Contemporary descriptions of these performances indicate
that a significant proportion of these listeners were
appreciating McGonagall's skill as a comic music hall
character, rather than his poems as such. His reputation as
a versifier has not improved with time. In 1992 a selection
of his works was reprinted under the title of World's Worst
Poet.
Thoughts on William Topaz
McGonagall
Some say William Topaz
McGonagall's poems were great,
Some say they were
rubbish,
But I say that unless you
have read them all,
You shouldn't speculate!
(Copyright Stuart
Macfarlane)
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