Thomson, James (1700-1748), was the most celebrated Scottish poet of the 1700’s before Robert Burns. In 1725, he traveled from Scotland to London, where he published his masterpiece, The Seasons (1726-1730, revised 1744-1746). Thomson broke with the imitative poetic style of his day. He turned to nature for his subject matter and wrote fresh, vivid descriptions of natural scenes that capture a quality of sublimity (nobility and majesty). This style helped lead to the Romantic movement of the 1800’s. Thomson also wrote tragedies, the poem Liberty (1735-1736), and an imitation of the poetry of Edmund Spenser, The Castle of Indolence (1748).
Thomson was born on Sept. 11, 1700, in Ednam in the Scottish lowlands. He died on Aug. 27, 1748.
