Thomas Warton

Thomas Warton (January 9, 1728 – May 21, 1790) was an English literary historian and critic, as well as a poet. From 1785 through 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England.

Life

Warton was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, the son of poet Thomas Warton, the Elder (c. 1688 - 1745), and younger brother of Joseph Warton. As a youngster, Warton demonstrated a strong predilection toward writing poetry, a skill he would continue to develop all of his life. [http://caxton.stockton.edu/pom/stories/storyReader$8 Life of Thomas Warton, the Younger] ] In fact, Warton translated one of Martial's epigrams at nine, and wrote "The Pleasures of Melancholy" at seventeen

His early education was given him by his father. At sixteen years of age he enrolled at Winchester College, later moving to Trinity College, Oxford. He graduated from Oxford in 1747, where he subsequently became a Fellow. Warton was selected as poet Laureate of Oxford in 1747 and again in 1748. His duty in this post was write a poem about a selected patroness of the University, which would be read to her on a specially appointed day.

---

A_literary_party_at_Sir_Joshua_Reynolds_-_1781._The_painting_shows_the_friends_of_Reynolds,_including_Warton_-_many_of_whom_were_members_of_use cursor to identify. |180px|thumb

poly 133 343 124 287 159 224 189 228 195 291 222 311 209 343 209 354 243 362 292 466 250 463 Dr Johnson - Dictionary writerpoly 76 224 84 255 43 302 62 400 123 423 121 361 137 344 122 290 111 234 96 225 Boswell - Biographerpoly 190 276 208 240 229 228 247 238 250 258 286 319 282 323 223 323 220 301 200 295 Sir Joshua Reynolds - Hostpoly 308 317 311 270 328 261 316 246 320 228 343 227 357 240 377 274 366 284 352 311 319 324 David Garrick - actorpoly 252 406 313 343 341 343 366 280 383 273 372 251 378 222 409 228 414 280 420 292 390 300 374 360 359 437 306 418 313 391 272 415 Edmund Burke - statesmanrect 418 220 452 287 Pasqual Paoli - Corsican independentpoly 455 238 484 253 505 303 495 363 501 377 491 443 429 439 423 375 466 352 Charles Burney - music historianpoly 501 279 546 237 567 239 572 308 560 326 537 316 530 300 502 289 Thomas Warton - poet laureatepoly 572 453 591 446 572 373 603 351 562 325 592 288 573 260 573 248 591 243 615 254 637 280 655 334 705 396 656 419 625 382 609 391 613 453 Oliver Goldsmith - writerrect 450 86 584 188 prob.The Infant Academy 1782rect 286 87 376 191 unknown paintingcircle 100 141 20 An unknown portraitpoly 503 192 511 176 532 176 534 200 553 219 554 234 541 236 525 261 506 261 511 220 515 215 servant - poss. Dr Johnson's hierrect 12 10 702 500 Use button to enlarge or use hyperlinks

desc bottom-leftWarton was appointed Professor of Poetry at the university in 1757, and held the post for ten years ["He was ordained and eventually served as professor of poetry at Oxford from 1757 to 1767." [http://www.bartleby.com/65/wa/Warton-T2.html Warton, Thomas, 1728–90, English poet and literary historian] ] .

In 1785, he was appointed Camden Professor of History, as well as poet laureate. He was a friend as well as a rival of Samuel Johnson, and his poetry was greatly influenced by earlier English poets, like Chaucer, Drayton, Fairfax, and Spenser.

Among other important contributions, Warton, along with his brother, was among the first to argue that "Sir Thopas", by Geoffrey Chaucer, was a parody. Warton contributed to the general project of the ballad revival. He was a general supporter of the poetry of Thomas Gray—a fact that Johnson satirized in his parody "Hermit hoar, in solemn cell." Among his minor works were an edition of Theocritus, a selection of Latin and Greek inscriptions, the humorous "Oxford Companion to the Guide and Guide to the Companion" (1762); lives of Sir Thomas Pope and Ralph Bathurst; and an Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Poems attributed to Thomas Rowley (1782).

Poetry, Criticism and Historical Works

In 1749, Warton penned "The Triumph of Isis", a poem praising of Oxford and the many students who had received their education there. Published anonymously, The Triumph of Isis rebutted William Mason’s Isis, an Elegy published the previous year, which was anything but flattering to Oxford.

Following the success of "The Triumph of Isis", Warton wrote "Newmarket, a Satire", which was followed by a collection of verses.

Warton's first major academic work was "Observations on the Faerie Queene of Spenser", published in 1754. He is, however, best known for the three-volume "The History of English Poetry" (1774–81), which covered the poetry of the 11th through the 16th centuries. Although the work was criticized for its many inaccuracies, it is nonetheless considered a highly important and influential historical tome.

As a poet, Warton was more inclined toward light and humorous verse, odes and sonnets. His sonnets helped to revive the form, which had fallen out of fashion.

He is remembered for his interest in primitivism, which was an important stage toward romanticism.

A Sonnet by Warton

:"

Various works

* [http://caxton.stockton.edu/pom/ The Pleasures of Melancholy]
*"Observations on the Faerie Queene of Spenser" (1754)
*"The Oxford Sausage" (ed.) (1764) -- an anthology of verse and Oxford wit
*"Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Rowley Poems" (1770)
*"History of English Poetry" (1774-81)

Notes