author
James Bramston
1693–1744
An 18th-century English satirist and Church of England clergyman, remembered for sharp, playful poems that spoofed the styles and manners of his day. His best-known works, including The Art of Politicks and The Man of Taste, show a lively gift for parody.
2 Audiobooks
The Art of Politicks
by James Bramston
The Man of Taste
by James Bramston
About the author
Born around 1694, he was the son of Francis Bramston of Skreens near Chelmsford, Essex. He was educated at Westminster School and then at Christ Church, Oxford, before taking Anglican orders.
He built his reputation through satire and parody, writing in deliberate imitation of major literary models. His most noted poems include The Art of Politicks (1729), modeled on Horace, and The Man of Taste (1733), written in the orbit of Alexander Pope's verse and literary culture.
Alongside his writing, he served as a clergyman in the Church of England. Although not among the most famous poets of his century, he remains of interest for his witty verse and for the way his poems capture the literary fashions and social attitudes of early 18th-century England.