James Thomson (1700-1748).

Thomson grew up among the rustic scenes of the Scottish border country. He was educated for the ministry, but he felt a poetic vocation and traveled to London in 1725.

The Seasons

Thomson was among the earliest of the nature poets of this century. The Seasons, his major poem, describes in blank verse the appearance of the English countryside at various times of year. Human action is incidental. The major movements described in the poem are the forces of wind, air, and water as the climatic changes take place. Thomson wrote the first part, Winter, in 1726. It was well received, and he continued to add other parts and to revise the poem until the final version, titled The Seasons, was published in 1744. As a Deist, Thomson saw nature as the essential revelation of God.

Thomson's ode Rule Britannia survives as a patriotic British song that is still sung today.