William Cowper
1731–1800
William Cowper (1731–1800) was an English poet and hymn writer from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. He suffered from severe depression throughout his life and found refuge in evangelical Christianity and the quiet country life of Olney and Weston.
With John Newton he wrote the Olney Hymns (1779), including “God moves in a mysterious way”. His long poem The Task (1785), on rural life and nature, foreshadowed Romanticism, and his comic ballad “John Gilpin” was hugely popular. Coleridge called him “the best modern poet”.
Best-known poems
-
Light Shining out of Darkness
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea, … -
The Diverting History of John Gilpin
John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and renown,
A train-band captain eke was he, … -
The Nose and the Eyes
Between Nose and Eyes a strange contest arose;
The spectacles set them, unhappily, wrong;
The point in dispute was, as all the world knows, … -
To Mary
The twentieth year is well-nigh past,
Since first our sky was overcast;
Ah, would that this might be the last! … -
England
From “The Timepiece”: “The Task,” Book. II.
ENGLAND, with all thy faults, I love thee still,—
My country! and, while yet a nook is left … -
Unmusical Birds
From “The Task,” Book I.
TEN thousand warblers cheer the day, and one
The livelong night: nor these alone, whose notes …
All poems (55)
A 4
B 1
C 1
D 1
E 2
H 1
L 1
M 2
O 6
- Ode, Supposed to be Written on the Marriage of a FriendThou magic lyre, whose fascinating sound
- Of HimselfWilliam was once a bashful youth,
- On a Goldfinch Starved to Death in his CageTIME was when I was free as air,
- On Her Endeavouring to Conceal Her Grief at PartingAh! wherefore should my weeping maid suppress
- On the Death of Sir W. RussellDoom'd as I am in solitude to waste
- On the Loss of the Royal GeorgeWritten When the News Arrived; 1782
R 1
S 4
T 23
- The Castaway (Cowper)OBSCUREST night involv'd the sky,
- The Distressed TravellersI SING of a journey to Clifton
- The Diverting History of John GilpinJohn Gilpin was a citizen
- The Diverting History of John GilpinShowing How He Went Farther Than He Intended, and Came Safe Home Again
- The Modern PatriotRebellion is my theme all day;
- The Negro's ComplaintForced from home and all its pleasures,
- The Nose and the EyesBetween Nose and Eyes a strange contest arose;
- The Present GoodFrom “The Task,” Book VI.
- The Symptoms of LoveWould my Delia know if I love, let her take
- The Task (Cowper)/Book I — The SofaI sing the Sofa. I, who lately sang
- The Task (Cowper)/Book II — The Time-PieceOh for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
- The Task (Cowper)/Book III ─ The GardenAs one who, long in thickets and in brakes
- The Task (Cowper)/Book IV ─ The Winter EveningHark! 'tis the twanging horn o'er yonder bridge,
- The Task (Cowper)/Book V ─ The Winter Morning Walk'Tis morning; and the sun, with ruddy orb
- The Task (Cowper)/Book VI ─ The Winter Walk at NoonThere is in souls a sympathy with sounds;
- The Winter NosegayWhat Nature, alas! has denied
- This ev'ning, Delia, you and IHave manag'd most delightfully,
- To a Young LadySweet stream that winds through yonder glade,
- To MaryThe twentieth year is well-nigh past,
- To Mary (Cowper)THE twentieth year is well-nigh past,
- To Mary UnwinMary! I want a lyre with other strings,
- To Seek a FriendExtracts from “Friendship”
- To the NightingaleWHENCE is it, that amaz'd I hear