Campbell, Thomas (poet)

Thomas Campbell was born on July 27, 1777 in the city of Glasgow; came from a noble but impoverished aristocratic family ^[4] . He studied at the University of Glasgow .

During his lifetime, he gained wide popularity thanks mainly to his ballads on topics from English and Scottish history, such as Glenara ( English Glenara ) and Ullin and his daughter ( English Ballad of Lord Ullin's Daughter ). In 1799, he published the didactic poem The Pleasures of Hope , written in the tradition of classicism, in which he sharply rebelled against the division of Poland , the horrors of war, slavery and the slave trade.

He is also the author of the lyric-romantic poem "Gertrude from Wyoming", which describes the life of young settlers in the New World .

Being initially a liberal and an ardent supporter of the French Revolution , during the Napoleonic Wars, Campbell joined the ranks of conservative patriots.

In 1800, Campbell traveled to Europe, met with Klopstock and other literary celebrities in Germany, and witnessed several episodes of the Napoleonic Wars in Germany; there he wrote several of his best poems, among other things, The Exile of Erin, inspired by a meeting with Irish immigrants in Hamburg .

After his return to London , two of his new poems were very successful: “Lochiel's Warning” and “Hohenlinden” (about the Battle of Hohenlinden ); the latter is considered one of the most poetic and spectacular descriptions of the battles in English poetry. Campbell's patriotic war songs (“Ye mariners of England” and “Battle of the Baltic”), for which he received a pension, also date back to that time.

In 1809, Campbell’s second major poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, a Pennsylvanian tale, was published.

Of his compilation and critical writings, the most remarkable are Specimens of the British poets. He is one of the founders of the University of London .