Alaric Alexander Watts (16 March 1797 – 5 April 1864)[1] was a British poet and journalist, born in London. His life was dedicated to newspaper creation and editing, and he was seen as a conservative writer. It led him to bankruptcy, when a pension was awarded to him by a friend, Lord Aberdeen.
He may now be best remembered for his alliterative poem The Siege of Belgrade, which begins with a much-quoted couplet:[2]
An Austrian army, awfully arrayed,
Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade.