Dead Poets Society

Queen Victoria’s 63 years and 216 days was longer by far than any previous British monarch and is known as the Victorian era famous for fashion, architecture, and the rapid ascension and growth of the middle class. While she suffered a brief period of disapproval following her marriage to her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, who was a foreigner, she was generally a well-liked monarch who along with her husband left a lasting legacy on England, and all of the UK.

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The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world’s largest collection of art. (Centuries of colonial pilferage certainly have their rewards…).

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Gift giving, as we now know it took its form under Victoria and Albert. They gave, and expected, gifts at weddings, birthdays, Christmas, and other celebrations.

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Albert, popularized the Christmas tree in English, and later American Culture.

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It was Victoria who moved the Royal Family permanently into Buckingham Palace.

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They were among the first British Royals to tour the entirety of the Unite Kingdom. They first visited Scotland in 1842, just five years after Victoria acceded to the throne. During this first stay they lodged in Edinburgh. When they returned in 1844 they stayed at Blair Castle, and when they visited in 1847 they rented Ardverikie House. The royal couple grew so fond of Scotland that in 1848 Prince Albert purchased a property known as Balmoral sight unseen along with its furniture and staff.

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Upon her first visit Queen Victoria recorded in her diary (she was known for writing around 2500 words every day) "All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils". Over time the property was expanded to meet the needs of the Royal Family, and still to this day Balmoral is owned by the House of Windsor and maintained as a royal residence.

When hearing that the Royal Family would be staying at Balmoral William McGonnagall could not believe his luck. He had recently changed career paths from being a weaver, to a poet, and he was looking for his work to gain traction.

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His first poem, “An Address to the Rev George GilFallin”, displayed many of the characteristics that would later become hallmarks of his work. Of the poem, Rev. GilFillan himself remarked “Shakespeare never wrote anything like this.

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In order to make a living as an artist, you need patrons. McGonagall realized this and wrote to Queen Victoria. He quickly received a response back from a royal staff member thanking him for his interest.

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When he heard the Queen would be staying just 60 miles from his home in Dundee he set out on foot determined to walk over. Mountains and through storms to the palace and perform his poetry live before the Queen. When he arrived at the castle he presented the footmen with his letter from the royal staff and proudly informed them he was the Queen’s poet, and had come to perform.

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The bewildered footman informed McGonagall that Alfred, Lord Tennyson was the poet laureate, and there was no such position as the Queen’s poet. Dejected, McGonagall returned home without seeing the queen.

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Throughout his career, McGonagall would write over 200 poems. All of them shares one common trait. They were all absolutely dreadful.

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When Rev Gilfillan told him Shakespeare never wrote anything like this, he was mocking him. When the letter came from the queen’s staff, it was a letter of rejection. When the footmen seemed bewildered at his presence at the castle, he was not star struck, he was likely holding back laughter.

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William McGonagall is remembered for being the worst poet in the history of the UK. He was so bad, that he had no idea how bad he was.

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The Dunning-Kruger effect occurs when a person’s lack of knowledge and skills in a certain area cause them to overestimate their own competence. This is how the intrepid poet was completely oblivious to insults, and rejections. He esteemed himself so skilled in poetry, that he could not conceive that he was awful. If others did not think his work was great, they simply did not understand good art if it came up and smacked them.

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The most dangerous aspect of the DK effect, is that it is the definition of a blind spot. You don’t know what you don’t know. To make matters worse, your overconfidence convinces you that the area in question is the last place you would ever have a blind spot.

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We all have blind spots. And thanks to the DK effect, we likely don’t realize we do. They are by definition, impossible to see. While some blind spots are relatively harmless (being a poor cook, or struggling to keep your houseplants alive) some can be catastrophic, like managing your finances, or properly changing the brakes on your car.

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The only way to avoid the DK effect is to at least occasionally seek a second set of eyes. Ask questions, and never assume you are the absolute expert at anything.