William Cowper
William Cowper
William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poem Yardley-Oak. He was a nephew of the poet Judith Madan...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth26 November 1731
dream money wings
Riches have wings, and grandeur is a dream.
wisdom weed truth
They whom truth and wisdom lead, can gather honey from a weed.
sweet loneliness solitude
How sweet, how passing sweet, is solitude! But grant me still a friend in my retreat, whom I may whisper, solitude is sweet.
mean ease modesty
But still remember, if you mean to please, To press your point with modesty and ease.
eye thinking liberty
To follow foolish precedents, and wink With both our eyes, is easier than to think.
buried tombs
In a fleshly tomb, I am buried above ground.
inspirational happiness nature
Thus happiness depends, as nature shows, less on exterior things than most suppose.
nature travel names
Nature is a good name for an effect whose cause is God.
knowledge men mind
Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, Have oft-times no connection. Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men; Wisdom in minds attentive to their own.
links body language
A tale should be judicious, clear, succinct; The language plain, and incidents well link'd; Tell not as new what ev'ry body knows; and, new or old, still hasten to a close.
loss ears animated
But animated nature sweeter still, to soothe and satisfy the human ear.
art painting claims
Blest be the art that can immortalize,--the art that baffles time's tyrannic claim to quench it.
strong attitude men
If my resolution to be a great man was half so strong as it is to despise the shame of being a little one...
death dust turns
We turn to dust, and all our mightiest works die too.