English Poetry: William Collins

In this article I will give some example of English Poetry. Check out the following. 

WILLIAM COLLINS 

1721-1759

William Collins is regarded as one of the most skilled 18th century lyric poets. Marking a transitional period in English Literature, Collin's style is formally Neoclassical but presages the themes of the Romantic  period. His treatment of individual experience and descriptions of emotion influenced his peers as well as the next generations of writers.Collins was born in Chichester,England where his father served as mayor. He enrolled in Winchester College at age 11 and began publishing poems later earning a BA in art under scholarship at Magdalen College, Oxford. His 1742 Publication, Persian Eclogues, was warmly recieved by both readers and critics, and he followed his success with Verses Humbly Address'd to Sir Thomas Hanmer in 1743. Another masterpiece of Collins is the Fidele. 

William Collins

"Fidele"

To fair Fidele's grassy tomb

Soft maids and village hinds shall bring

Each opening sweet of earliest bloom,

And rifle all the breathing Spring. 

No wailing ghost shall dare appear 

To vex with shrieks this quite grove;

But shepherd lads assemble here,

And melting virgins own their love.

No wither'd witch shall here be seen,

No goblins lead their nightly crew;

The female fays shall haunt the green,

And dress thy grave with pearly dew.

The redbreast oft at evening hours 

Shall kindly lend his little aid,

With hoary moss, and gather'd flowers, 

To deck the ground where thou art laid.

When howling winds, and beating rain,

In tempest shake thy sylvan cell;

Or 'midst the chase, on every plain,

The tender thought on thee shall dwell; 

Each lonely scene shall thee restore,

For thee the tear be duly shed;

Beloved, till life can charm no more;

And mourn'd, till Pity's self be dead.  

Collins moved to London to write, forfeiting his scholarship, but was forced to leave the city after his extravagant lifestyle created an important debt.


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