Chronological List of Poems

Here are all 258 McGonagall poems published on this site, listed by month and year of composition. If you’d like to see them listed chronologically according to the events they describe, consult the McGonagall Calendar instead.

1877

• An Address to the Rev. George Gilfillan - July 1877
• The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay - August 1877
• A Requisition To The Queen - September 1877
• An Address to Shakespeare - September 1877
• An Ode to the Queen - September 1877
• Robert Burns - September 1877
• The Battle of Bannockburn - September 1877
• The Bonnie Lass o’ Dundee - September 1877
• A Summary History of Sir William Wallace - October 1877
• A Descriptive Poem on the Silvery Tay - 1877 (month unknown)

1878

• Bonnie Dundee in 1878 - January 1878
• Genius - March 1878
• An Address to Prince Leopold - May 1878
• The Castle of Mains - May 1878
• The Sorrows of the Blind - May 1878
• Loch Ness - June 1878
• The Newport Railway - June 1878
• Balmoral Castle - July 1878
• The Spittal of Glenshee - July 1878
• Lines in Memoriam of the Late Rev. George Gilfillan - August 1878
• The Burial of the Reverend George Gilfillan - August 1878
• The Christmas Goose - September 1878
• The Rattling Boy from Dublin - October 1878
• Mary, the Maid of the Tay - November 1878
• Song Dedicated to Mr Barry Sullivan, Tragedian, without Permission (A Fragment) - November 1878
• The Moon - December 1878
• Little Jamie - 1878 (month unknown)
• The City of Perth - 1878 (month unknown)
• The Inauguration of the Hill o’ Balgay - 1878 (month unknown)
• The Irish Convict’s Return - 1878 (month unknown)

1879

• Forget-Me-Not - March 1879
• The Barley Bree (A Fragment) - March 1879
• The Convict’s Return - April 1879
• The Death of the Old Mendicant - June 1879
• A Tribute to the Rev. Mr Macrae - October 1879

1880

• The Tay Bridge Disaster - January 1880
• Stirling Castle - March 1880
• Descriptive Jottings of London - June 1880
• Farewell Address at the Argyle Hall, Tuesday, June 22, 1880 - June 1880
• The Burns Statue (A Fragment) - October 1880

1881

• Bonnie Montrose - April 1881
• The Beautiful City of Glasgow - July 1881
• The Royal Review - September 1881
• The Wreck of the “Thomas Dryden” - October 1881
• Beautiful Edinburgh - 1881 (month unknown)

1882

• A Tribute to Mr Murphy and the Blue Ribbon Army - January 1882
• Attempted Assassination of the Queen - May 1882
• The Battle of Tel-el-Kebir - October 1882
• The Wreck Of The Steamer “London”, While on her way to Australia - November 1882
• The Den o’ Fowlis - 1882 (month unknown)

1883

• Saving a Train [Version 1] - February 1883
• The Beautiful Sun - June 1883
• The Sunderland Calamity - June 1883
• The Death of Captain Webb - August 1883
• The Death of John Brown - August 1883
• The Inauguration of the University College, Dundee - October 1883
• Glasgow - 1883 (month unknown)

1884

• Saved by Music - January 1884
• The Famous Tay Whale - January 1884
• The Battle of El-Teb - March 1884
• The Clepington Catastrophe - March 1884
• The Death of Prince Leopold - April 1884
• The Battle of Waterloo - June 1884
• The Battle of Flodden Field - August 1884
• The Great Franchise Demonstration - September 1884
• Women’s Suffrage - October 1884
• A Christmas Carol - December 1884

1885

• The Battle of the Alma, Fought in 1854 - January 1885
• The Battle of Abu Klea - February 1885
• General Gordon, the Hero of Khartoum - March 1885
• The Capture of Lucknow - April 1885
• The Rebel Surprise Near Tamai - April 1885
• Jack o’ the Cudgel, Part I - June 1885
• The Battle of Alexandria, or the Reconquest of Egypt - June 1885
• The Battle of Cressy - June 1885
• A Tribute to Dr. Murison - August 1885
• Jack o’ the Cudgel, Part II - August 1885
• Bill Bowls the Sailor [Version 1] - September 1885
• Bill Bowls, the Sailor [Version 2] - September 1885
• A New Temperance Poem, in Memory of my Departed Parents, who were Sober Living & God Fearing People - October 1885

1886

• The Wreck of the Barque “Lynton”, While Bound for Aspinwall, Having on Board 1000 Tons of Coal - January 1886
• The Wreck of the “Columbine” - March 1886
• The Wreck of the Barque “Wm. Paterson” of Liverpool - April 1886
• A Tale of the Sea - May 1886
• Greenland’s Icy Mountains - May 1886
• Oban - June 1886
• Loch Katrine - July 1886
• Young Munro the Sailor - July 1886
• The Queen’s Visit to the Exhibition - August 1886
• The Battle of the Nile - September 1886
• The Dundee Flower Show - September 1886
• Hanchen, The Maid of the Mill - October 1886
• An Autumn Reverie - November 1886
• Baldovan Mansion - December 1886
• Broughty Ferry - December 1886
• Loch Leven - December 1886

1887

• To Mr James Scrymgeour, Dundee - January 1887
• Wreck of the Schooner “Samuel Crawford” - January 1887
• Jottings of New York - May 1887
• An Address to the New Tay Bridge - June 1887
• An Ode to the Queen on her Jubilee Year - June 1887
• Adventures of King Robert the Bruce - July 1887
• Grace Darling or The Wreck of the “Forfarshire” - August 1887
• Little Pierre’s Song - August 1887
• The First Grenadier of France - August 1887
• Burning of the Exeter Theatre - September 1887
• Grif, of the Bloody Hand - September 1887
• The Demon Drink - October 1887
• An Adventure in the Life of King James V of Scotland - November 1887
• The Black Watch Memorial - November 1887
• The Death of Lord and Lady Dalhousie - December 1887
• The Tragic Death of the Rev. A. H. Mackonochie - December 1887

1888

• The Burning of the Steamer “City of Montreal” - January 1888
• The Death of the Rev. Dr. Wilson - January 1888
• Annie Marshall the Foundling - February 1888
• John Rouat the Fisherman - February 1888
• The Great Yellow River Inundation In China - March 1888
• The Funeral of the German Emperor - April 1888
• The Wreck of the Whaler “Oscar” - April 1888
• Jenny Carrister, The Heroine of Lucknow-Mine - May 1888
• Beautiful Nairn - June 1888
• The Death of Fred Marsden, the American Playwright - June 1888
• An Excursion Steamer Sunk in the Tay - July 1888
• Drowning of the Rev. Wm. Horne - August 1888
• The Horrors of Majuba - August 1888
• The Queen at the International Exhibition, Glasgow - August 1888
• The Battle of Shina, in Africa - October 1888
• The Miraculous Escape of Robert Allan, the Fireman - October 1888
• The Collision in the English Channel - November 1888
• The Funeral of the Late Ex-Provost Rough, Dundee - December 1888

1889

• The Destroying Angel, or The Poet’s Dream - January 1889
• The Wreck of the Steamer “Storm Queen” - January 1889
• Richard Pigott, the Forger - April 1889
• A Tale of Elsinore - May 1889
• The Pennsylvania Disaster - July 1889
• The Poacher and his Family - August 1889
• Lines in Protest to the Dundee Magistrates - September 1889
• Jack Honest, or the Widow and her Son - November 1889
• The Sprig of Moss - December 1889

1890

• A Tribute to Henry M Stanley - June 1890
• The Crucifixion of Christ - June 1890
• Beautiful Monikie - July 1890
• William Fly, The Pirate - September 1890
• The Late Sir John Ogilvy - 1890 (month unknown)

1891

• The Battle of Langside - April 1891
• The Nithsdale Widow and her Son - December 1891

1892

• Captain Teach alias “Black Beard” - April 1892
• The Bonnie Lass of Ruily - April 1892
• The Wreck of the “Abercrombie Robinson” - May 1892
• Beautiful Newport on the Braes o’ the Silvery Tay - August 1892
• Beautiful Rothesay - August 1892
• The Bonnie Sidlaw Hills - August 1892
• The Troubles of Matthew Mahoney - August 1892
• Too Late - August 1892
• Bonnie Callander - September 1892
• Bonnie Kilmany - September 1892
• Death and Burial of Lord Tennyson - October 1892
• The Hill of Kinnoul - October 1892
• The Life-Boat Demonstration - October 1892
• Hawthornden - November 1892
• Royal Visit of the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne - November 1892
• The Foundering of the Steamer “Spree”, While on her way to New York - December 1892

1893

• A New Year’s Resolution to Leave Dundee - January 1893
• A Soldier’s Reprieve - January 1893
• Lines in Reply to the Beautiful Poet who Welcomed News of McGonagall’s Departure from Dundee - January 1893
• A Poet’s Complaint - March 1893
• A Tribute to Mr J. Graham Henderson, The World’s Fair Judge - March 1893
• Beautiful Aberfoyle - March 1893
• Lines in Praise of Mr. J. Graham Henderson, Hawick - March 1893
• The Ancient City of St Andrews - March 1893
• Lines in Memoriam Regarding the Entertainment I Gave on the 31st March, 1893, in Reform Street Hall, Dundee - April 1893
• Lines in Praise of the Arbroath Oddfellows - May 1893
• The Faithful Dog Fido - June 1893
• The Loss of the Victoria - June 1893
• The Horse Parade, or Demonstration in respect of the Royal Wedding - July 1893
• The Blind Girl - October 1893
• Little Popeet: The Lost Child - November 1893
• Lost on the Prairie - December 1893
• The Terrific Cyclone of 1893 - December 1893
• Lines in Praise of the Royal Marriage - 1893 (month unknown)

1894

• The Little Match Girl - January 1894
• Lines in Praise of Sunlight Soap - February 1894
• Lines in Praise of the University of St. Andrews Liberal Association Annual Dinner - February 1894
• Nora, The Maid of Killarney - March 1894
• The Kessack Ferry-Boat Fatality - March 1894
• The Beautiful City of Perth - April 1894
• The Beautiful River Dee - April 1894
• A Tribute to the Rev. Alexander C. Henderson - May 1894
• The Village of Tayport and its Surroundings - July 1894
• Lines in Praise of the Lyric Club Banquet - September 1894
• The Fair Maid of Perth’s House - October 1894
• The Heatherblend Club Banquet - October 1894
• Beecham’s Pills - 1894 (month unknown)

1895

• Lines in Praise of Professor Blackie - April 1895
• Edinburgh - June 1895
• The River of Leith - September 1895
• The Inauguration Of The Talla Water Scheme - October 1895
• Lines in Defence of the Stage - 1895 (month unknown)

1896

• The New North Bridge Ceremonials - May 1896
• The Edinburgh Lifeboat Procession (A Fragment) - June 1896
• Colinton Dell and its Surroundings - August 1896
• The Burning of the People’s Variety Theatre, Aberdeen - 1896 (month unknown)
• The Funeral of the Late Prince Henry of Battenberg - 1896 (month unknown)

1897

• The Military Review by Lord Wolseley - February 1897
• An Ode to the Immortal Bard of Ayr, Robert Burns - April 1897
• The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations - May 1897
• The Storming of the Dargai Heights - November 1897

1898

• Calamity in London - January 1898
• The Battle of Atbara - April 1898
• The Burial of Mr Gladstone - May 1898
• The Albion Battleship Calamity - June 1898
• The Disastrous Fire at Scarborough - June 1898
• The Battle of Omdurman - September 1898
• The Wreck of the Steamer “Mohegan” - November 1898
• Beautiful Balmerino - 1898 (month unknown)
• The Execution of James Graham, Marquis of Montrose - 1898 (month unknown)

1899

• Saving a Train [Version 2] - January 1899
• The Hero of Rorke’s Drift - February 1899
• Beautiful Crieff - April 1899
• The Ancient Town of Leith - May 1899
• The Wreck of the Steamer “Stella” - May 1899
• A Summary History of Lord Clive - June 1899
• Beautiful Comrie - June 1899
• Beautiful North Berwick - June 1899
• The Last Berkshire Eleven, The Heroes of Maiwand - July 1899
• The Hero of Kalapore - August 1899
• A Humble Heroine - September 1899
• The Wreck of the “Indian Chief” - October 1899
• Lines in Praise of Tommy Atkins - November 1899
• The Battle of Glencoe - November 1899
• The Battle of the Modder River - December 1899

1900

• The Relief of Ladysmith - April 1900
• Beautiful Balmoral - May 1900
• The Beautiful Village of Penicuik - May 1900
• Lord Roberts’ Triumphal Entry into Pretoria - June 1900
• The Relief of Mafeking - June 1900
• The Capture of Havana - July 1900
• General Roberts in Afghanistan - August 1900
• The Battle of Corunna - August 1900
• The Burning of the Ship “Kent” - September 1900
• A Tale of Christmas Eve - December 1900

1901

• The Death of Captain Ward - January 1901
• The Death of the Queen - January 1901
• The Siege of Seringapatam - March 1901
• The Downfall of Delhi - April 1901
• An All Night Sea Fight - June 1901
• The Battle of Gujrat - August 1901

1902

• The Ashantee War, The Fall of Coomassie - January 1902
• McGonagall’s Ode to the King - June 1902
• The Coronation of King Edward the VII - August 1902
• Beautiful Torquay - 1902 (month unknown)
• Drogheda and its Surroundings - 1902 (month unknown)
• The Battle of Inkermann - 1902 (month unknown)
• The Battle of Toulouse - 1902 (month unknown)
• The City of Sligo, And Its Adjacent Surroundings - 1902 (month unknown)

Date Unknown

• Montrose
• The Battle of Culloden
• The Battle of Sheriffmuir

Credits

The dates on this page are drawn from Norman Watson’s careful research in his book Poet McGonagall.