Who is William Lisle Bowles

William Lisle Bowles (24 September 1762 – 7 April 1850) was an English priest, poet and critic.

Life and career

Bowles was born at King's Sutton, Northamptonshire, where his father was vicar. At the age of 14 he entered Winchester College, where the headmaster at the time was Dr Joseph Warton. In 1781 Bowles left as captain of the school, and went on to Trinity College, Oxford, where he had won a scholarship. Two years later he won the Chancellor's prize for Latin verse.Bowles came from a line of Church of England clergymen. His great-grandfather Matthew Bowles (1652–1742), grandfather Dr Thomas Bowles (1696–1773) and father William Thomas Bowles (1728–1786) had all been parish priests. After taking his degree at Oxford, Bowles followed his forebears into t...
Read Full Biography of William Lisle Bowles


William Lisle Bowles Poems

  • The Egyptian Tomb
    Pomp of Egypt's elder day,
    Shade of the mighty passed away,
    Whose giant works still frown sublime
    'Mid the twilight shades of Time; ...
  • Christmas Hymn. (from The Villager's Verse-book.)
    Hark! angel voices from the sky
    Proclaim a Saviour's birth;
    Glory, they sing, to God on high,
    Peace and goodwill on earth! ...
  • The Swan. (from The Villager's Verse-book.)
    Look at the swan! how still he goes!
    His neck and breast like silver gleam;
    He seems majestic as he rows;
    The glory of the lonely stream. ...
  • Silchester, The Ancient Caleva.[199]
    The wild pear whispers, and the ivy crawls,
    Along the circuit of thine ancient walls,
    Lone city of the dead! and near this mound,[200]
    The buried coins of mighty men are found, ...
  • Sonnet. Written In A Copy Of Falconer's "shipwreck."
    What pale and bleeding youth, whilst the fell blast
    Howls o'er the wreck, and fainter sinks the cry
    Of struggling wretches ere, o'erwhelmed, they die,
    Yet floats upborne upon the driving mast! ...
Read All Poems


Top 10 most used topics by William Lisle Bowles

Long 140 High 121 Heart 120 Hear 110 Beneath 108 Earth 97 Life 96 Voice 96 Deep 96 Slow 96


William Lisle Bowles Quotes

Read All Quotes


Comments about William Lisle Bowles

Iswearenglish: the butterfly and the bee poem by william lisle bowles - summary analysis - the butterfly and the bee by william lisle bowles 1762 – 1850
Near_death_fe: 26. bowles, william lisle; nichols, john gough. annals and antiquities of lacock abbey, in the county of wilts;. london, j.b. nichols and son, 1835.
Book_addict: happy birthday to english writer and poet william lisle bowles (september 24, 1762), author of "the grave of the last saxon"(1822) et al.
Nathanfrancis__: poems:
Donaldh11469395: “ the cause of freedom is the cause of god! [ edmund burke, i. 78 ]” william lisle bowles [ 1762- 1850 ]
Read All Comments


Write your comment about William Lisle Bowles


Poem of the day

Edgar Albert Guest Poem
The Killing Place
 by Edgar Albert Guest

We're hiking along at a two-forty pace
We 're making life seem like a man-killing race,
With our nerves all on edge and our jaws firmly set
We go rushing along; with our brows lined with sweat
And our cheeks pale and drawn every minute we dash,
And the goal that we 're after is merely more cash.

We 're out for the money, the greenbacks and gold,
...

Read complete poem

Popular Poets