In a poem written in 1745 he shows the delight in Gothic churches and ruined castles which inspired much of his subsequent work in romantic revival. Most of Warton’s poetry was wTitten before the age of twenty-three, when he took his M.A. degree. In 1749, he penned The Triumph of Isis, a poem in praise of Oxford and the many students who had received their education there. Published anonymously, The Triumph of Isis rebutted William Mason’s Isis, an Elegy published the previous year, which was anything but flattering to Oxford.

His early education was given to him by his father. At sixteen years of age he enrolled at Winchester College, later moving to Trinity College, Oxford. He graduated from Oxford in 1747, where he subsequently became a Fellow. Warton was selected as Poet Laureate of Oxford in 1747 and again in 1748. His duty in this post was to write a poem about a selected patroness of the University, which would be read to her on a specially appointed day.

Although he continued to write poetry, Warton’s main energies were turned to poetical reading and criticism. His first major academic work was Observations on the Faerie Queene of Spenser, published in 1754. He is, however, best known for the three-volume The History of English Poetry (1774–81), which covered the poetry of the 11th through the 16th centuries. Although the work was criticized for its many inaccuracies, it is nonetheless considered a highly important and influential historical tome.

Warton was appointed Professor of Poetry at the university in 1757, a post that he held for ten years.

In 1771 he was appointed rector of Kiddington in Oxfordshire, a post he held until his death.

In 1782 he wrote The History and Antiquities of Kiddington, an early example of English local history.

In 1785, he was appointed Camden Professor of History, as well as Poet Laureate. He was a friend and rival of Samuel Johnson, and his poetry was greatly influenced by earlier English poets such as Chaucer, Drayton, Fairfax, and Spenser.