Thomas Campion, Thomas Campion's Observations in the Art of English Poesie

Miles Layram (University of York)

Ed. by J A Roe, University of York
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1592 - 1602

Places

England (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)

Resources

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Thomas Campion (1567-1620) was a physician, as well as being one of the most significant figures in England within the worlds of music (he wrote the definitive English treatise on counterpoint) and poetics. A number of his lyrics, such as

There Is a Garden in Her Face

, are still held in high regard, and often appear in anthologies. His treatise

Observations in the Art of English Poesie

was first published in 1602, but was possibly written about a decade earlier. Alongside Sidney’s

Defence of Poesy

, Puttenham’s

The Arte of English Poesie

, and Daniel’s

Defence of Rhyme

(which is in fact a reply to the

Observations

), Campion’s text is one of the most notable works of literary theory to have been produced during the English Renaissance.

The Observations marks the culmination of the

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1696 words

Citation: Layram, Miles . "Thomas Campion's Observations in the Art of English Poesie". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 February 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35869, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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