James Thomson

11 September 1700 - 27 August 1748. British poet and playwright, mainly known for his poem “The Seasons” and the lyrics of “Rule, Britannia!”.

After his studies of theology at the University of Edinburgh, Thomson went to London in 1725 hoping either to become a popular preacher or to acquire a patron for his poetry [please indicate source].

His poem “Winter” appeared in 1726 and was very well received. It was followed by “Summer” (1727) and “Spring” (1728). In 1730, Thomson published “The Seasons”, now also including “Autumn”. And it was this publication which secured him a patron. Sir Charles Talbot did not only send Thomson abroad as a companion to his son (1731-1733), but also gave him the post of secretary of briefs in the Court of Chancery.

Thomson’s next work, a long poem called “Liberty”, was based on his travels and published in five parts (1734-1736) However, in the end the poem turned out to be a failure [please indicate source]. Luckily, Thomson had sold the copyright before [please indicate source].

Due to Talbot's death in 1737, Thomson lost his sinecure. Moreover, his fortunes got low, so that he was arrested for debt. Nevertheless, he managed to retrieve his fortunes, namely by producing his tragedy Agamemnon in 1738. Thomson's next tragedy, Edward and Eleanora (1739), was not published for political reasons [which ones??].

In collaboration with his friend David Mallet, Thomson wrote the masque Alfred (1740) containing his famous ode “Rule, Britannia!”.

In 1745, Thomson produced his most successful play, Tancred and Sigismunda. The poem "The Castle of Indolence" was published in 1748. James Thomson died that year on August 27.

Sources:

Bayne, William. James Thomson. Philadelphia: R. West, 1977.

Sambrook, James. James Thomson. 1700-1748: A Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Scott, Mary Jane W. James Thomson. Anglo-Scot. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1988.