Verse came naturally. Pure lyric gift, unweighed or unballasted by any other quality of mind or emotion.

English poet. He attended Queens College, Oxford, but left in 1888 without taking a degree. Dowson`s life was tragic. In 1894 his father died, and his mother committed suicide six months later. Dowson himself was consumptive, alcoholic, and debt-ridden. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 32. One of the fin-de-siècle decadents, Dowson wrote fragile, sensuous poetry voicing regret for the passing of youth and beauty, the denial of love, and the rejection of pleasure. His best-known poem is “Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae sub Regno Cynarae,” with its refrain, “I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.” A Roman Catholic, Dowson wrote some very fine religious poetry.