Empson biography

William Empson (born September 27, 1906, Hawdon, Yorkshire, England—died April 15, 1984, London) was an English critic and poet known for his immense influence on 20th-century literary criticism and for his rational, metaphysical poetry.

William Empson, English critic and poet known for his immense influence on 20th-century literary criticism and for his rational, metaphysical poetry. His book Seven Types of Ambiguity () is one of the most influential critical works of the first half of the 20th century.

Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading.

Sir William Empson (27 September – 15 April ) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his first, Seven Types of Ambiguity, published in

Sir William Empson was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism.

Poet, scholar, and critic Sir William Empson, was a massive literary figure of his time, one who “revolutionized our ways of reading a poem,” in the words of the London Times. The school of literary criticism known as New Criticism gained important support from Empson’s Seven Types of Ambiguity: A Study of Its Effects on English Verse.