McGonagall published over 200 poems in his lifetime, mostly on printed broadsheets he sold in the street or after giving one of his “entertainments”. These poems may be perused here, grouped either by publication or by subject matter.
Poems by Subject
Though most famous for his disaster poems, McGonagall’s range of subjects was actually far wider:
- Disasters
- Military
- Geographical
- Deaths & Funerals
- Famous People
- History
- Moral Tales
- Temperance
- Events in the News
- Autobiographical
- Miscellaneous
Poems by Publication
The name “Poetic Gems” chosen by McGonagall for his first (and only) book of poems has been adopted and adapted for later collections of his work. Choose from one of the titles below:
- Poems and Song (1878)
- Poetic Gems [First Series] (1890)
- Poetic Gems [Second Series] (1891)
- Poet McGonagall’s Masterpieces (After 1894)
- Select Poems of McGonagall (1910)
- Poetic Gems (1934)
- The Real McGonagall (1948)
- More Poetic Gems (1962)
- Last Poetic Gems (1968)
- The Great McGonagall (1968)
- The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay and other Disasters (1972)
- McGonagall and Tommy Atkins (1975)
- The World’s Worst Poet (1979)
- Poetic Gems [Duckworth 1980 Version] (1980)
- More Poetic Gems [Duckworth Version] (1980)
- Still More Poetic Gems (1980)
- Yet More Poetic Gems (1980)
- Further Poetic Gems (1980)
- Yet Further Poetic Gems (1980)
- Last Poetic Gems [Duckworth Version] (1980)
- Poetic Gems [Duckworth 1989 Version] (1989)
- The Tay Bridge Disaster and Other Poetic Gems (2000)
- William McGonagall: A Selection (2003)
- Collected Poems (2006)
A few poems remain unpublished in any printed poetry collection.
Full Lists of Poems
Alternatively, you can consult a complete list of all McGonagall poems, listed either alphabetically or chronologically.
Non-Poetic Works
McGonagall wasn’t just a poet, he turned his hand to literary criticism in this essay:
Gem of the Day
The Wreck of the Whaler “Oscar”
A large crowd watch the growing disaster – rather like one of McGonagall’s readings
