Thomas Warton(9 January 1728 – 21 May 1790) was an Englishliterary historian,critic, and poet. He was appointedPoet Laureatein 1785, following the death ofWilliam Whitehead.
Thomas Warton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 20 April 1785 – 21 May 1790 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | William Whitehead |
| Succeeded by | Henry James Pye |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 January 1728 Basingstoke,Hampshire,England |
| Died | 21 May 1790(aged 62) Oxford,England |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Literary historian, critic, and poet |
He is sometimes calledThomas Warton the youngerto distinguish him fromhis father, who had the same name.His most famous poem isThe Pleasures of Melancholy,a representative work of theGraveyard Poets.
Life
editWarton was born inBasingstoke,Hampshire,the son of poetThomas Warton, the Elder,and younger brother ofJoseph WartonandJane Warton.As a youngster, Warton demonstrated a strong predilection toward writing poetry, a skill he would continue to develop all of his life.[1]In fact, Warton translated one ofMartial's epigrams at nine and wroteThe Pleasures of Melancholyat seventeen.[2]
His early education was given to him by his father at home. In March 1744, aged 16, he enteredTrinity 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 to write a poem about a selected patroness of the university, which would be read to her on a specially appointed day.[1]
Warton was appointedProfessor of Poetryat the university in 1757, a post that he held for ten years.[4]
In 1771, he was appointed rector ofKiddingtonin Oxfordshire, a post he held until his death. In 1785, he was appointedCamden Professor of History,as well as the eighthPoet Laureate.
Among other important contributions, Warton, along with his brother, was among the first to argue thatSir Thopas,byGeoffrey Chaucer,was a parody. Warton contributed to the general project of theballadrevival. He was a general supporter of the poetry ofThomas Gray—a fact that Johnson satirized in his parody "Hermit hoar, in solemn cell." Among his minor works were an edition ofTheocritus,a selection of Latin and Greek inscriptions, the humorousOxford Companion to the Guide and Guide to the Companion(1762); lives ofSir Thomas PopeandRalph Bathurst;and anInquiry into the Authenticity of the Poems attributed to Thomas Rowley(1782).[2]
Warton gave little attention to his clerical duties, and Oxford always remained his home. He was known as a very easy and convivial as well as a very learneddon,with a taste fortavernsand crowds as well as dimaislesandromances.
Poetry, criticism and historical works
editIn a poem written in 1745 he shows the delight in Gothic churches and ruined castles which inspired much of his subsequent work in romantic revival. Most of Warton's poetry was written before the age of twenty-three, when he took hisM.A.degree.[2] In 1749, he pennedThe Triumph of Isis,a poem in praise of Oxford and the many students who had received their education there. Published anonymously,The Triumph of IsisrebuttedWilliam Mason'sIsis, an Elegy published the previous year, which was anything but flattering to Oxford.[1]
Following the success ofThe Triumph of Isis,Warton wroteNewmarket, a Satire,which was followed by a collection of verses. His complete poetical works were included in an anthology that was published in 1853.[5]
Although he continued to write poetry, Warton's main energies were turned to poetical reading and criticism.[2]His first major academic work wasObservations on theFaerie QueeneofSpenser,published in 1754. He is, however, best known for the three-volumeThe History of English Poetry(1774–81), which covered the poetry of the 11th through the 16th centuries. Although the work was criticised for its many inaccuracies, it is nonetheless considered a highly important and influential historical tome.[citation needed]
In 1782, he wroteThe History and Antiquities of Kiddington,an early example ofEnglish local history.[6]
Various works
edit- The Pleasures of Melancholy.
- Observations on the Faerie Queene of Spenser.1754.
- The Oxford Sausage.1764.– an anthology of verse and Oxford wit
- Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Rowley Poems.1770.
- History of English Poetry.1774–1781.
- The History and Antiquities of Kiddington.1782.
Warton Lectures
editIn 1910,Frida Mondendowed theBritish Academywith a fund to establish an annual Shakespeare oration or lecture, as well as an annual lecture on English poetry to be called the Warton Lecture, as a tribute to the memory of Thomas Warton as a historian of English poetry. The inaugural lectures in these series were delivered in 1911 and 1910, respectively.[7][8]
References
edit- ^abcLife of Thomas Warton, the YoungerArchived14 March 2006 at theWayback Machine
- ^abcdOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Warton, Thomas".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 337.
- ^'A literary party at Sir Joshua Reynolds's,D. George Thompson, published by Owen Bailey, after James William Edmund Doyle, published 1 October 1851
- ^"He was ordained and eventually served as professor of poetry at Oxford from 1757 to 1767."Warton, Thomas, 1728–90, English poet and literary historian,Bartleby. Accessed 9 December 2022.
- ^Willmott, Robert Aris,ed. (1853).The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray, Thomas Parnell, William Collins, Matthew Green, and Thomas Warton.London: Routledge.
- ^Warton, T.The History and Antiquities of Kiddington.3rd edition (1815) inGoogle Books.Accessed 9 December 2022.
- ^"Frida Mond: A good friend to the British Academy".The British Academy.
- ^"Warton Lectures on English Poetry".The British Academy.
External links
edit
- Lee, Sidney(1899)..InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 59. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 432–436.
- Thomas Wartonat theEighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
- Works by Thomas WartonatProject Gutenberg
- Works by or about Thomas Wartonat theInternet Archive
- Works by Thomas WartonatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)
