WATSON, SIR WILLIAM

born Aug. 2, 1858, Burley in Wharfedale, Yorkshire, Eng. died Aug. 11, 1935, Ditchling, Sussex in full Sir John William Watson English author of lyrical and political verse, with a special gift for occasional poems. Watson's Wordsworth's Grave (1890), his Lachrymae Musarum (1892; on the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the poet laureate), and his coronation ode for King Edward VII contributed to his reputation. He had strong political views and attacked the government on a number of issues. His first collection, The Prince's Quest, appeared in 1880; from that time he wrote prolifically. He was knighted in 1917. His work was influenced by that of Tennyson and also by that of Matthew Arnold. Watson's later poetry, appearing in an edition of 1936, remained firmly Victorian in idea and idiom.