{\b William Allingham}.

{\b Date of Birth}.: 19 March 1824

{\b Date of Death}.: 18 November 1889

{\b Works}.

Irish poet and lyricist. His first volume was Poems (1850) which contain one 
of his best poems, 'The Fairies'. Another notable poem was 'Laurence 
Bloomfield in Ireland: a Modern Poem' (1864). He wrote several collections of 
verse for children. He also edited The Ballad Book (1864) and Fifty Modern 
Poems (1865). His use of Irish themes in his lyrics set a precedent for 
greater poets like Yeats.

{\b Featured Works}.

'The Fairies', 'The Winding Banks of Erne', 'The Pale Image', 'Aeolian Harp', 
'To the Nightingales', 'Lovely Mary Donnelly'.

{\b General Comment}.

Allingham was born to an old Anglo-Irish family at Ballyshannon in Donegal. He 
worked as a customs officer in Ireland and later in England where he settled 
in 1863. He was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite circle whose ideas influenced 
him as a poet. He contributed to many periodicals and made many friends, 
notably Tennyson and Dante Gabriel Rossetti who illustrated some of his work. 
Though his collected Poems (1888) was popular for a short time, none of his 
writings made a lasting impression.