This article is about the poem. For the disaster itself, see Tay Bridge disaster.
"The Tay Bridge Disaster" is a poem written in 1880 by the Scottish poet William McGonagall, who has been acclaimed as the worst poet in history.[1] The poem recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge at Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on board. The number of deaths was actually 75, not 90 as stated in the poem.[note 1] The foundations of the bridge were not removed and are alongside the newer bridge.
The poem is among McGonagall's most well-known works, and has been lampooned by critics as one of the worst poems in the English language.[3] It begins:
"Beautiful railway bridge of the silv'ry Tay
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last sabbath day of 1879
Which will be remember'd for a very long time."
And it ends:
"Oh! Ill-fated bridge of the silv'ry Tay,
I now must conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed."
William McGonagall wrote two other poems about the Tay bridges. The first one, written before the disaster about the first bridge, begins as follows:
The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay:
"Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay!
With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array,
And your central girders, which seem to the eye
To be almost towering to the sky"
And it ends:
"Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay!
I hope that God will protect all passengers
By night and by day,
And that no accident will befall them while crossing
The Bridge of the Silvery Tay,
For that would be most awful to be seen
Nearby Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay!
And prosperity to Messrs Bouche and Grothe,
The famous engineers of the present day,
Who have succeeded in erecting the Railway
Bridge of the Silvery Tay,
Which stands unequalled to be seen
Nearby Dundee and the Magdalen Green."
After the original bridge collapsed, a new one was built, providing the opportunity for another poem, which begins:
An Address to the New Tay Bridge
"BEAUTIFUL new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay,
With your strong brick piers and buttresses in so grand array,
And your thirteen central girders, which seem to my eye
Strong enough all windy storms to defy."
Criticismedit
This and other examples of McGonagall's work are often held to be risibly bad poetry. Although McGonagall is obsessive about rhyme, he often repeats the same rhyming pairs. The lines are sometimes of inordinate length and lack any form of scansion or metre. Finally, any pathos generated by the rambling narrative is usually dispelled by the inclusion of inappropriate or irrelevant details.[4] On the other hand, Professor Kirstie Blair contends that McGonagall's poems are no better or worse than most of the broadside ballads that were sold on the streets of Scotland in the 19th-century, whose authors have long since sunk into obscurity.[5]
^ It has been suggested that there were no unknown victims and that the higher figure (of 75, as opposed to 59) arises from double-counting in an early newspaper report.[2] A more mundane explanation would be confusion between the issuing station (given for passengers who had surrendered their tickets) and destination (for those who had not). In any case the inquiry did not take its casualty figures from the Dundee Courier – it took sworn evidence and did its own sums.
^"Courier article to blame for Tay Bridge Disaster death toll confusion, says researcher". The Courier. 28 March 2014.
^"The Tay Bridge Disaster: William McGonagall and the Worst Poem Ever Written". Mentalfloss.com. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
^Hunt, Chris (2007). "Introduction". William McGonagall: Collected Poems. Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited. ISBN978-1841584775.
^Blair, Kirstie (2019). Working Verse in Victorian Scotland: Poetry, Press, Community. Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN978-0198843795.
External linksedit
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The Tay Bridge Disaster
Listen to this article (3 minutes)
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January 01, 1970
bridge, disaster, this, article, about, poem, disaster, itself, bridge, disaster, poem, written, 1880, scottish, poet, william, mcgonagall, been, acclaimed, worst, poet, history, poem, recounts, events, evening, december, 1879, when, during, severe, gale, rail. This article is about the poem For the disaster itself see Tay Bridge disaster The Tay Bridge Disaster is a poem written in 1880 by the Scottish poet William McGonagall who has been acclaimed as the worst poet in history 1 The poem recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879 when during a severe gale the Tay Rail Bridge at Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on board The number of deaths was actually 75 not 90 as stated in the poem note 1 The foundations of the bridge were not removed and are alongside the newer bridge The Tay Bridge Disasterby William McGonagallOriginal Tay Bridge from the South the day after the disasterWritten1880CountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishSubject s Bridge collapseGenre s LamentPublication date1880Lines61Full textThe Tay Bridge Disaster at Wikisource Photograph of section of the first Tay Bridge before its collapse with a steam train Original Tay Bridge from the north Contents 1 The poem 2 Criticism 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksThe poem editThe poem is among McGonagall s most well known works and has been lampooned by critics as one of the worst poems in the English language 3 It begins Beautiful railway bridge of the silv ry Tay Alas I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last sabbath day of 1879 Which will be remember d for a very long time And it ends Oh Ill fated bridge of the silv ry Tay I now must conclude my lay By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay That your central girders would not have given way At least many sensible men do say Had they been supported on each side with buttresses At least many sensible men confesses For the stronger we our houses do build The less chance we have of being killed William McGonagall wrote two other poems about the Tay bridges The first one written before the disaster about the first bridge begins as follows The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array And your central girders which seem to the eye To be almost towering to the sky And it ends Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay I hope that God will protect all passengers By night and by day And that no accident will befall them while crossing The Bridge of the Silvery Tay For that would be most awful to be seen Nearby Dundee and the Magdalen Green Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay And prosperity to Messrs Bouche and Grothe The famous engineers of the present day Who have succeeded in erecting the Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay Which stands unequalled to be seen Nearby Dundee and the Magdalen Green After the original bridge collapsed a new one was built providing the opportunity for another poem which begins An Address to the New Tay Bridge BEAUTIFUL new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay With your strong brick piers and buttresses in so grand array And your thirteen central girders which seem to my eye Strong enough all windy storms to defy Criticism editThis and other examples of McGonagall s work are often held to be risibly bad poetry Although McGonagall is obsessive about rhyme he often repeats the same rhyming pairs The lines are sometimes of inordinate length and lack any form of scansion or metre Finally any pathos generated by the rambling narrative is usually dispelled by the inclusion of inappropriate or irrelevant details 4 On the other hand Professor Kirstie Blair contends that McGonagall s poems are no better or worse than most of the broadside ballads that were sold on the streets of Scotland in the 19th century whose authors have long since sunk into obscurity 5 See also editList of United Kingdom disasters by death tollReferences edit It has been suggested that there were no unknown victims and that the higher figure of 75 as opposed to 59 arises from double counting in an early newspaper report 2 A more mundane explanation would be confusion between the issuing station given for passengers who had surrendered their tickets and destination for those who had not In any case the inquiry did not take its casualty figures from the Dundee Courier it took sworn evidence and did its own sums William McGonagall 1992 World s Worst Poet Selections from Poetic Gems Templegate Publishers Courier article to blame for Tay Bridge Disaster death toll confusion says researcher The Courier 28 March 2014 The Tay Bridge Disaster William McGonagall and the Worst Poem Ever Written Mentalfloss com 18 August 2021 Retrieved 4 November 2021 Hunt Chris 2007 Introduction William McGonagall Collected Poems Edinburgh Birlinn Limited ISBN 978 1841584775 Blair Kirstie 2019 Working Verse in Victorian Scotland Poetry Press Community Oxford University Press p 178 ISBN 978 0198843795 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The Tay Bridge Disaster Listen to this article 3 minutes source source nbsp This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 17 August 2005 2005 08 17 and does not reflect subsequent edits Audio help More spoken articles Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Tay Bridge Disaster amp oldid 1222052982, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
