Warton was born in
Basingstoke,
Hampshire, the son of poet
Thomas Warton, the Elder, and younger brother of
Joseph Warton and
Jane Warton. As a youngster, Warton demonstrated a strong predilection toward writing poetry, a skill he would continue to develop all of his life. In fact, Warton translated one of
Martial's epigrams at nine and wrote
The Pleasures of Melancholy at seventeen. In 1771, he was appointed rector of
Kiddington in Oxfordshire, a post he held until his death. In 1785, he was appointed
Camden Professor of History, as well as the eighth
Poet Laureate. Among other important contributions, Warton, along with his brother, was among the first to argue that
Sir Thopas, by
Geoffrey Chaucer, was a parody. Warton contributed to the general project of the
ballad revival. He was a general supporter of the poetry of
Thomas Gray—a fact that Johnson satirized in his parody "Hermit hoar, in solemn cell." Among his minor works were an edition of
Theocritus, a selection of Latin and Greek inscriptions, the humorous
Oxford Companion to the Guide and Guide to the Companion (1762); lives of
Sir Thomas Pope and
Ralph Bathurst; and an
Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Poems attributed to Thomas Rowley (1782). Warton gave little attention to his clerical duties, and Oxford always remained his home. He was known as a very easy and convivial as well as a very learned
don, with a taste for
taverns and crowds as well as dim
aisles and
romances. ==Poetry, criticism and historical works==