Walsh (1663-1708) was a critic and poet, though he is best remembered as the friend and mentor of the young Alexander Pope whom he advised to be a 'correct' writer. In the Preface to a collection of his letters and poems he argued that the English love poets who preceded him had preferred other qualities, such as wit and learning, to sincerity of passion (Letters and Poems, Amorous and Gallant, 1692, A4-S).