Just a follow on from the world's worst poem thread.
Obviously, despite the occasional support from ironists, William McGonagall had no poetic talent. His work is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, though a great deal (I confess I've read his Complete Works) is simply tedious.
That he is famous at all is down to mockery. In his self-description, McGonagall is a pompous, obsequious non-entity with absolutely no self-awareness. He apparently had no idea how bad his work actually was. At performances, they threw cabbages at him just because he was so...throwable.
And that's where I'm in two minds about McGonagall. He knew how people felt about his work, but he kept on producing it, and kept on giving recitals. An actor, he had successfully carved out a living for himself. When he walked sixty miles to Balmoral to ask to be made Poet Laureate, was he serious? Or was it a comic stunt? Was McGonagall's persona just an act?
If it was, then he was fantastic, as we're still talking about him. If not, he was a sad, deluded fool. Laughing at someone like that is mocking the afflicted.
Obviously, despite the occasional support from ironists, William McGonagall had no poetic talent. His work is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, though a great deal (I confess I've read his Complete Works) is simply tedious.
That he is famous at all is down to mockery. In his self-description, McGonagall is a pompous, obsequious non-entity with absolutely no self-awareness. He apparently had no idea how bad his work actually was. At performances, they threw cabbages at him just because he was so...throwable.
And that's where I'm in two minds about McGonagall. He knew how people felt about his work, but he kept on producing it, and kept on giving recitals. An actor, he had successfully carved out a living for himself. When he walked sixty miles to Balmoral to ask to be made Poet Laureate, was he serious? Or was it a comic stunt? Was McGonagall's persona just an act?
If it was, then he was fantastic, as we're still talking about him. If not, he was a sad, deluded fool. Laughing at someone like that is mocking the afflicted.
