Campbell, Thomas

Thomas (1777-1844), a British poet and miscellaneous writer. He was born at Glasgow and was educated at Glasgow University. While a student he distinguished himself for translations of Greek poetry into English verse. At the age of twenty-two he published The Pleasures of Hope. This poem was "written in a garret, rewritten, rearranged, and polished to perfection." It was an instantaneous success. Its author was at once offered employment by booksellers. That he was not at once successful financially seems to have been due to his own procrastination and, possibly, his own indolence. In 1805 the British government settled a pension of pound200 or $1,000 a year on him. Campbell continued to write poetry and prose. He delivered lectures on poetry. He was for ten years editor of the New Monthly Magazine. He died in France, and his body was interred in Westminster Abbey.

Gertrude of Wyoming was published in 1809. As a poem it was thought by certain critics to excel Pleasures of Hope. The scene is laid in Pennsylvania, and the poem relates a tragic story of the Revolution. The descriptions of sylvan scenes and of domestic happiness are beautiful. It is lacking in dramatic qualities and is, on the whole, too sentimental. Campbell's lyrics and the ballad, Lord Ullin's Daughter, are the best known of his poems.

The names and range of his principal poems are sufficiently indicated by the following quotations: