Thomas Warton

As a youngster, Warton demonstrated a strong predilection toward writing poetry, a skill he would continue to develop all of his life.

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.

Among other important contributions, Warton, along with his brother, was among the first to argue that Sir Thopas, by Geoffrey Chaucer, was a parody.

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).

In 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.

[5] Although he continued to write poetry, Warton's main energies were turned to poetical reading and criticism.

Dr. Samuel Johnson, author James Boswell, biographer Sir Joshua Reynolds, host David Garrick, actor Edmund Burke, statesman Pasqual Paoli, Corsican independent Charles Burney, music historian Thomas Warton, poet laureate Oliver Goldsmith, writer Probably ''The Infant Academy'' (1782) Puck by Joshua Reynolds Unknown portrait Servant, possibly Dr. Johnson's heir Use button to enlarge or use hyperlinks
A literary party at Sir Joshua Reynolds's. [ 3 ] Left to right: James Boswell , Samuel Johnson , Joshua Reynolds , David Garrick , Edmund Burke , Pasquale Paoli , Charles Burney , a servant (possibly Francis Barber ), Thomas Warton , Oliver Goldsmith . (select a detail of the image for more information)