Biographical Account of the Life and Works of the 16th Century Composer Thomas Campion

In his book he proposed that timing and sound duration are the real definition of verse structure, rather than the old-fashioned rhymed, accentual metres of verse. Campion also began to give songs a different subject matter than previous composers. He expressed the conventional Elizabethan subject matter in terms of sound, music, movement, or change rather than using visual imagery.
Campion's ability to personalise with his song subjects and his interesting rhythms and song structure established him as one of the great English composers of the 16th century. …