William Walsh by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt

William Walsh (6 October 166215 March 1708) of

Abberley Hall Abberley Hall is a country house in the north-west of the county of Worcestershire, England. The present Italianate house is the work of Samuel Daukes and dates from 1846 to 1849. Since 1916 it has been occupied by Abberley Hall School. It is a ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

and a Whig politician who sat in the

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

from 1698 to 1708.

Life

Walsh was the second of eight children born to Joseph and Elizabeth Walsh of

. The last of his siblings,

Octavia Walsh Octavia Walsh (1676? – 1706) was an English poet. Her book of poetry is in the Bodleian Library. Life Walsh was the last of eight children born to Joseph and Elizabeth Walsh of Abberley Hall Abberley Hall is a country house in the north-we ...

, was also, secretly, a poet. He entered

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, as a

gentleman commoner A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees. Cambridge ...

in 1678. Leaving the university without a degree, he settled in his native county. Walsh was returned MP for

in 1698, 1701 and 1702. In 1705 he sat for

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

. On the accession of Queen Anne he was made "

gentleman of the horse Gentleman of the Horse was a position in the stables department of the British Royal Court, subordinate only to the Master of the Horse. It existed from 1693 until abolished in 1782, and carried a salary of £256. The post was revived in 1828, wi ...

," a post which he held till his death, noted by

Narcissus Luttrell Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732) was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish boroughs. His ''Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714'', a ch ...

on 18 March 1708.

Works

Walsh wrote a ''Dialogue concerning Women, being a Defence of the Sex'' (1691), addressed to "Eugenia"; and ''Letters and Poems, Amorous and Gallant'' (preface dated 1692, printed in ''Jonson's Miscellany'', 1716, and separately, 1736); love lyrics designed, says the author, to impart to the world "the faithful image of an amorous heart." It is not as a poet, however, but as the friend and correspondent of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

that Walsh is remembered. Pope's ''Pastorals'' were submitted for his criticism by Wycherley in 1705, and Walsh then entered on a direct correspondence with the young poet. The letters are printed in Pope's ''Works'' (ed. Elwin and Courthope, vi. 49-60). Pope, who visited him at

Abberley Abberley is a village and civil parish in north west Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the northern slopes of Abberley Hill, which is tall, between the River Severn and River Teme. The village had a population of 830 in 2001. Locati ...

in 1707, set great value upon his opinion. "Mr Walsh used to tell me," he says, "that there was one way left of excelling; for though we had several great poets, we never had any one great poet that was correct, and he desired me to make that my study and my aim." The excessive eulogy accorded both by

Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the peri ...

and Pope to Walsh must be accounted for partly on the ground of personal friendship. The life of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

prefixed to Dryden's translation, and a "Preface to the Pastorals with a short defence of Virgil, against some of the reflections of Monsieur Fontenella," both ascribed at one time to Walsh, were the work of Dr Knightly Chetwood (1650–1720). In 1704 Walsh collaborated with

Sir John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...

and

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright and poet of the Restoration period. He is known for his clever, satirical dialogue and influence on the comedy of manners style of that period. He was also a min ...

in ''

Squire Trelooby ''Squire Trelooby'' is a 1704 farce by the writers William Congreve, John Vanbrugh and William Walsh. All were members of the Kit-Cat Club and another member Samuel Garth wrote a prologue. It was inspired by the French play ''Monsieur de Pourc ...

'', an adaptation of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's farce ''

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' is a three-act ''comédie-ballet''—a ballet interrupted by spoken dialogue—by Molière, first presented on 6 October 1669 before the court of Louis XIV at the Château of Chambord by Molière's troupe of actors. ...

''. Walsh's ''Poems'' are included in

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

's and other collections of the British poets.

References

Sources

* * Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, William 1662 births 1708 deaths British MPs 1707–1708 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British literary critics English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 English male poets Members of the Parliament of England for Worcestershire

Life

Works

References

Sources

Further reading

External links