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William Topaz McGonagall (March 1825 – 29 September 1902) was a Scottish weaver, doggerel 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 his notorious "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 acclaimed as the worst poet in British history. The chief criticisms are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. McGonagall's fame stems from the humorous effects these shortcomings generate in his work. 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 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. ==Early life== Throughout his adult life, McGonagall claimed to have been born in Edinburgh, giving his year of birth variously as 1825〔(【引用サイトリンク】first1=William )〕 and 1830.〔(【引用サイトリンク】first1=William )〕 His parents were both Irish. However, his entry in the 1841 Census gives his place of birth, like his parents', as "Ireland".〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk/life/mcgonagall-in-the-census )〕 It has been suggested that he falsified his place of birth, as a native Scotsman would be treated better under the Poor Law than an Irish Immigrant would have been. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William McGonagall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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