The English poet William Collins (1721-1759) excelled in the descriptive or allegorical ode. He also wrote classical odes and elegies and lyrics marked by delicate and pensive melody.

William Collins was born on Dec. 25, 1721, in Chichester. His father was a prosperous merchant who was twice elected mayor. In 1733 Collins entered Winchester, intending to study for the clergy. There he began his lifelong friendship with Joseph Warton and his own poetic career. In 1739 his short poem "To a Lady Weeping" was published in the Gentleman's Magazine. The following year he entered Queen's College, Oxford, but soon transferred to Magdalene. While at Oxford, he published his Persian Eclogues (1742), the only one of his works that was highly regarded during his lifetime.

Having abandoned his plan to enter the clergy, Collins left Oxford. With a small inheritance from his mother, in 1744 he settled in London to become a man of letters...