Willem Bilderdijk

Willem Bilderdijk (born Sept. 7, 1756, Amsterdam, Neth.—died Dec. 18, 1831, Haarlem) was a Dutch poet who had considerable influence not only on the poetry but also on the intellectual and social life of the Netherlands. Born of a strongly Calvinist and monarchist family, Bilderdijk had a crippled foot and spent a precocious childhood among books. After studying law at Leiden, he practiced as an advocate at The Hague until 1795, when, as an Orangist,...