William Collins (1) (1721–1759)

Author of Gray and Collins: Poetical Works (Oxford Paperbacks)

For other authors named William Collins, see the disambiguation page.

About the Author

Collins published only a handful of poems before insanity clouded the remainder of his brief life. In 1754 he was confined to an asylum, having suffered from mental illness since 1751. His odes and lyrics, often difficult for the casual reader to grasp, have come to be regarded by some eminent show more critics as masterworks and touchstones of political taste. The young Coleridge wrote that Collins's Ode on the Poetical Character (1747) had moved him as much as anything in Shakespeare. Two of his other best-known works are Ode to Evening and Ode Written in the Beginning of the Year 1746. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Works by William Collins

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Gray and Collins: Poetical Works (Oxford Paperbacks) (1937) 71 copies, 1 review

The Poems of Gray, Collins and Goldsmith (Longman Annotated English Poets) (1969) — Author — 30 copies

The poetical works of William Collins (2009) 20 copies

Selected Poems of Thomas Gray and William Collins (1970) 10 copies

The Poems of William Collins (1988) 9 copies

Odes on several descriptive and allegoric subjects (1969) 6 copies

The works of William Collins (1980) 6 copies

The poetical works of Collins, Gray, and Beattie : with Lord Byron's English bards and Scotch reviewers, Hours of idleness, &c. &c (2010) 3 copies

Persian eclogues 2 copies

The Complete Poetical Works of William Collins, Thomas Gray, and Oliver Goldsmith. With Biographical Sketches and Notes. (2006) 1 copy

Poems by William Collins, two vols. 4th ed. 1 copy

The laurel : containing the poetical works of Collins, Dr. Johnson, Pomfret & Hammond 1 copy

Ode on the Poetical Character 1 copy

The Noel Douglas Replicas William Collins Odes... (1926) 1 copy

The Athenæum Press Series; The Poems of William Collins. [1898] (2016) 1 copy

Gray and Collins [Sound recording], read by Richard Bebb, John Neville, George Rylands, and William Squire. — Author — 1 copy

Poems by Thomas Gray and William Collins. The deserted village [by] Oliver Goldsmith [Sound recording]. Read by Robert Speaight. — Author — 1 copy

The Poems of William Collins. Edited by Christopher Stone (1907) 1 copy

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Associated Works

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1 (1962) — Contributor — 2,460 copies, 8 reviews

The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,243 copies, 3 reviews

English Poetry, Volume II: From Collins to Fitzgerald (1910) — Contributor — 577 copies, 1 review

Eighteenth-Century English Literature (1969) — Author — 193 copies, 1 review

The Standard Book of British and American Verse (1932) — Contributor — 130 copies, 1 review

English Verse: Volume 3: The Eighteenth Century: Swift to Crabbe (Penguin English Verse) (1995) — Contributor — 11 copies

Edexcel Poetry Anthology for Advanced subsidiary and advanced GCE examinations in English Literature (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 6 copies

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Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1721-12-25
Date of death: 1759-06-12
Gender: male
Education: University of Oxford (Magdalen and Queen's Colleges)
Occupations: poet
translator
Nationality: England
UK
Birthplace: Chichester, Sussex, England, UK
Places of residence: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Place of death: London, England, UK
Burial location: St. Andrew's Church, Chichester, England
Associated Place (for map): England, UK

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Reviews

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1 review

Bookwomble 606 reviews

The Poems of Gray and Collins (Revised Fourth Edition) by Thomas Gray

I far preferred Gray's work to that of Collins. The latter's Eclogues were fine, but much of the rest of his poetry left me cold. I think it may be that he made many references to issues and people topical for him, of which I have neither knowledge nor interest. Gray, however, deals with more universal, timeless themes, which remain relevant despite the stretch of time since he wrote. I suppose it is no accident that Gray is the more remembered.

Feb 19, 2019