William Edmonstoune Aytoun

Aytoun, William Edmonstoune (āˈtōn) [key], 1813–65, Scottish poet. He was (1845–64) professor of belles-lettres at Edinburgh Univ. The Bon Gaultier Ballads (written with Sir Theodore Martin, 1845) parodied poems by Macaulay, Tennyson, and others. His best-known poem, Firmilian (1854), burlesqued the chaotic, bombastic poetry being written in his day.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print