Knight of the white elephant by Anthony Daniels - The New Criterion: Between the ages of fifteen and twenty, McGonagall developed a passion for the theater, particularly for Shakespeare. It strikes me as both remarkable and moving that a man who was born, lived all his life, and died in abject poverty should have attached such value to high culture. At first, he worked in the theater backstage or as a scene-changer, but then began to obtain parts in an amateur or semi-professional capacity. He knew whole Shakespeare plays by heart, especially the great tragedies, and eventually obtained starring roles in Dundee, where he lived. What he never realized, because his belief in his genius was as granitic as his absence of a sense of humor was total, was that he was given these roles for the absurdity of his performances. Here is a description of one of his appearances as Macbeth (his favorite part):
McGonagall as Macbeth refused to die when run through by Macduff; he maintained his feet and flourished his weapon about the ears of his adversary in such a way that there was for some time an apparent possibility of a real tragedy. Macduff, continually telling him to go down became at length so incensed that he gave him a smart rap over the fingers with the flat of his sword. McGonagall dropped his weapon, but dodged and pranced as if to wrestle. Macduff threw his sword aside, seized Macbeth and brought the sublime tragedy to a close in a rather undignified way by taking the feet from under the principal character.
Only a man with a heart of stone, said Oscar Wilde, could read the death of Little Nell without laughing.