Robert Williams Parry (6 March 1884 – 4 January 1956) was one of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

's most notable 20th-century poets writing in Welsh.

Life

R. Williams Parry was born in

Tal-y-sarn Tal-y-sarn () is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales, next to Penygroes, Gwynedd, Penygroes. It is part of the community (Wales), community of Llanllyfni and includes some of Llandwrog. The Electoral ward, ward ha ...

, in Dyffryn Nantlle, a first cousin to the writers T. H. Parry-Williams and Sir Thomas Parry. He studied at Tal-y-sarn elementary school, then at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

county school from 1896 to 1898, and for one year at the new Pen-y-groes county school, then becoming a pupil-teacher from 1899 to 1902. He went to the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

, from 1902 to 1904, and left having taken part of the degree course and trained as a teacher. After working as a teacher at various schools until 1907, he completed his degree at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, then from 1908 to 1910 taught Welsh and English at

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

county school. He returned to college at Bangor and spent some months in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

working towards an MA degree, which he was awarded in 1912 for a dissertation on points of contact between Welsh and Breton, subsequently resuming his teaching work at Cefnddwysarn, then at Barry county school, and was appointed English master at Cardiff High School for Boys in 1916. Parry served in the army from 1916 to 1918, returning on demobilization to Cardiff, and in 1921 was appointed headmaster of Oakley Park School in

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. He left early in 1922 having been appointed a lecturer in the Welsh and Extra-Mural Studies Departments at the university college in Bangor, where he remained until his retirement in 1944. After his marriage in 1923 he lived in Bethesda, Gwynedd.

Work

Parry earned widespread recognition as a poet when he won the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

at the 1910

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

for his poem "Yr Haf" ('The Summer'), which has been described as "the best known and admired of all the eisteddfod awdlau of the 20th century". He published two collections of poetry: ''Yr Haf a cherddi eraill'' (1924) and ''Cerddi'r Gaeaf'' (1952). Some of his most notable works include "Y Llwynog" ('The Fox'), "Eifionydd" and "Englynion coffa Hedd Wyn". In the latter he uses the traditional four-line verse or ''

englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent known as . Ear ...

'' and ''

cynghanedd In Welsh-language poetry, ''cynghanedd'' (, literally "harmony") is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using Stress (linguistics), stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of ''cynghanedd'' show up in the definitions ...

'' to lament the death of the poet Hedd Wyn (Ellis Humphrey Evans) at the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

in 1917. Hedd Wyn was posthumously awarded the

at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

; Parry, three years Hedd Wyn's senior, was himself a major influence on his contemporary. :"The chair ... today stretching out its arms in a long peace of silence for the one who hasn't come." There is a short biography and appreciation of Parry's work by his cousin, Sir Thomas Parry, in the ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

''.

Bibliography

Books by R. Williams Parry

*''Yr Haf a cherddi eraill'' (1924) *''Cerddi'r Gaeaf'' (1952)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, Robert Williams 1884 births 1956 deaths Welsh World War I poets 20th-century British male writers People educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle Welsh-language poets People from Bethesda, Gwynedd People from Talysarn