Thomas Campion, a renowned poet and composer of his time, has mostly sunk into the depths of oblivion after his death, due to his unpopular and strict ideas on the nature of poetry. He was convinced that a proper poem, contrary to the lyrical rhyming tendencies of his time, should follow the rules of the quantitative verse. This means that a poem's beauty is not defined by its rhyme scheme but by the length and placement of syllables, disregarding actual pronunciation. This opinion of his might have sprung from his original love, music, where tempo and length of the notes play the most important role.
His poetry itself, nevertheless, has an ethereal and beautiful charm. He focusses on the emotional side of life, uses a highly descriptive and metaphorical writing style to convey a feeling more than a meaning. This can be seen in his poem "There is a Garden in her Face", where the description of the woman is a stronger reflection on the impression she makes on other people than her actual appearance. Similarly, "My Life's Delight" or "Now Winter Nights Enlarge" focus on the emotions of the protagonists. It is as if Campion tried to create poems that evoke a similar reaction as music.
When reading Campion, one should not try to strongly focus on the actual story behind the words but rather seek the feeling that is encased in them. "Now Winter Nights Enlarge" is an easy to understand example, as the words themselves build a weird construct of weather and darkness. However, the emotion carried within the poem is the feeling of love, new or old that creates safety in moments that would otherwise be fearsome.
