Author: WALKER, William Sidney
Biography:
WALKER, William Sidney (1795-1846: ODNB)
Born at Pembroke, Wales, 4 Dec. 1795, he was the son of a naval officer, John Walker (d 1811), and his wife, Harriet Falconar (q.v.). He was invariably called by his middle name, Sidney. Following his early education by an uncle and a private tutor, he was a student at Eton (1811-15). There he befriended the future poets John Moultrie and Winthrop Mackworth Praed (q.v.). His eccentricity—unkempt appearance; acute absent-mindedness; remarkable memory; talent for poetry (he contributed to The Etonian)—led to his being bullied. In 1813, Longman published, by an extraordinarily impressive subscription, his Gustavus Vasa, and Other Poems. Other books of poetry appeared in 1815 and 1816. At Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated Feb. 1817; BA 1819), his closest friend was Derwent Southey, the poet Robert Southey’s (q.v.) son. A student of high accomplishment (Porson prize; Craven scholar), his college elected him fellow. Though his Cambridge career was “infructuous” (Watts, 319), his mastery of Shakespeare and excellent Greek scholarship impressed William Gifford, editor of the QR, who published his reviews of Cowper’s Poems and Life (16:31, 116-29) and Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound (26:51, 168-80); the latter review has attracted much scholarly attention (qq.v). He also contributed articles to Knight’s Quarterly Magazine, the Classical Journal, and the Literary Souvenir. In 1824, for the publisher Charles Knight (q.v.), he liberally edited the manuscript of Charles Sumner’s English translation of Milton’s Christian Doctrine. Unable to resolve his religious doubts—he had been influenced by William Wilberforce and the Cambridge educationist Charles Simeon—in 1829 he relinquished his fellowship; to continue required that he take holy orders. He went into seclusion in London, ran up large debts, lived on £72 a year supplied by Mackworth Praed and Trinity College, and fell into madness. He died at his residence, 41 St James's Place, St James, Westminster, on 15 Oct. 1846, apparently of kidney disease. He is buried in Kensal Green cemetery. Walker’s textual notes on Shakespeare, published after his death, are of continuing interest. (NLS, John Murray Archive; ODNB 10 Mar. 2023; ACAD 10 Mar. 2023; “Memoir of the Author,” in The Poetical Remains of William Sidney Walker, ed. J. Moultrie [1852]; GM, 3rd ser., 1 [1853], 66-67; A. A. Watts, Alaric Watts. A Narrative of His Life, 2 vols. [1884]; M. Kelley, “The Recovery, Printing, and Reception of Milton’s ‘Christian Doctrine’”, Huntingdon Library Quarterly, 31:1 [1967], 34-41) JC
Other Names:
- W. S. Walker