# T. D. McKee explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by James McIntyre.

## What happens

This chapter recounts an anecdote about the late Honourable T. D. McKee, a great Irish historian, demonstrating his quick wit when a new chair stuck to him as he rose from a supper table. It also references his poem on the St. Lawrence River, in which Cartier describes the mighty river to the King.

## Themes in this chapter

### Cultural Heritage and Immigrant Identity

The chapter highlights Irish heritage through the figure of T. D. McKee and his poem on the St. Lawrence, blending Irish identity with Canadian landscape.

## Character check-ins

### T. D. McKee

The late Honourable T. D. McKee, a great Irish historian, is the subject of the anecdote, showing his ready wit when a new chair stuck to him at a supper in Ingersoll.

## Key lines

> I wish the Montreal people were as anxious to retain me in my seat as you are in Ingersoll.

McKee joked that he wished the people of Montreal wanted to keep him in his position as much as the Ingersoll audience wanted to keep him in his chair.

_This shows McKee's quick wit and political identity as a Montreal member._

> He told them of a river whose mighty torrent gave A freshness for a hundred leagues to ocean’s briney wave.

Cartier described a river so powerful that it freshened the ocean's salty water for a hundred leagues.

_This excerpt from McKee's poem emphasizes the grandeur of the St. Lawrence River._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_12_se/chapters/t-d-mckee
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_12_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_12_se/chapters