Reputation
He is mentioned by Francis Meres in company with Shakespeare, Peele and Marlowe among "the best for tragedie", but no dramatic work of his except the translations above mentioned is extant today. It is certain that Watson enjoyed a great reputation in his lifetime, and that he was not without a direct influence upon the youth of Shakespeare. He was the first, after the original experiment made by Wyat and Surrey, to introduce the pure imitation of Petrarch into English poetry. "He shows his inventiveness by his variety of treatment...It is the number of different ways in which he can introduce these devices in this matter than measures his success as a poet." He was well read in Italian, French and Greek literature.
Read more about this topic: Thomas Watson (poet)
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