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
backward beast received thy till
My God, till I received thy stroke, / How like a beast was I! / So unaccustomed to the yoke, / So backward to comply.
caesar knew posterity regions shall thy
Regions Caesar never knew / Thy posterity shall sway.
both equals fame milton rome sound thy
Greece, sound thy Homer's, Rome thy Virgil's name, / But England's Milton equals both in fame.
dearest help idol tear throne thy whatever worship
The dearest idol I have known, Whatever that idol be, Help me to tear it from thy throne , And worship only thee.
blood church dear dying god lose precious shall sin thy
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its powerTill all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
art magic themselves thy wound
All thy threads with magic art / Have wound themselves about this heart.
taught
With outstretched hoe I slew him at the door, / And taught him NEVER TO COME THERE NO MORE.
above repose
Without one friend, above all foes, Britannia give the world repose
bird supposed
There is a bird who by his coat,And by the hoarseness of his note,Might be supposed a crow.
aching hours left memory peaceful sweet void
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! / How sweet their memory still! / But they have left an aching void / The world can never fill.
drop half pause puff sentence solemn time
The pipe, with solemn interposing puff,Makes half a sentence at a time enough;The dozing sages drop the drowsy strain,Then pause, and puff -- and speak, and pause again.
english-poet gives spice
Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour.
fit insatiable visitors
Visitors are insatiable devourers of time, and fit only for those who, if they did not visit, would do nothing
clubs diamond spots typical
With spots quadrangular of diamond form,/ Ensanguined hearts, clubs typical of strife, / And spades, the emblem of untimely graves.