Cowper, William

Cowper, William
(1731-1800)
   William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper") was the son of the rector of Great Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, and chaplain to King George II. Educated at Westminster School, he was called to the bar in 1745, but never practiced. He suffered throughout his life from severe (possibly manic) depression and during one of his periods of hospitalization he experienced a profound religious conversion. He and George Herbert share a commemorative window in St. George's Chapel, Westminster Abbey. His poems are of everyday life - hedgerows, ditches, rivers, haystacks, and hares. Also a prolific hymn-writer, one of his best-known is "God Moves in a Mysterious Way." He collaborated with John Newton to write the hymn "Light Shining Out of Darkness." Between 1765 and 1773 at the village of Olney, Buckinghamshire, Cowper, and John Newton (who was curate there) published the Olney Hymns. Cowper's poem "Against Slavery" is an example of how he spoke up for the poor and the downtrodden. Some of his other poems: "Abuse of the Gospel," "How to Grow Cucumbers," "R.S.S. Written in a Fit of Illness," "The Bee and the Pine-Apple," "The Castaway," "The Retired Cat," "The Sower."
   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Poet's Corner Bookshelf (http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/olney.html). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Cyber Hymnal (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/index.htm). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. The Poetical Works of William Cowper. 3rd edition. H.S. Milford, ed. Oxford University Press, 1926. Westminster Abbey Official Guide (no date).

British and Irish poets. A biographical dictionary. . 2015.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cowper, William — born Nov. 26, 1731, Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, Eng. died April 25, 1800, East Dereham, Norfolk British poet. Throughout his life he was plagued by recurring mental instability and religious doubt. Olney Hymns (1779; with John Newton), a… …   Universalium

  • Cowper, William — (1731–1800)    Poet.    Cowper was the son of a Church of England clergyman and grew up in Great Berkhamstead. He was trained as a lawyer. Throughout his adult life he was subject to fits of mania, alternating with periods of acute depression… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Cowper, William — ► (1666 1709) Anatomista inglés. Descubrió las pequeñas glándulas de la uretra humana que llevan su nombre. * * * (26 nov. 1731, Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, Inglaterra–25 abr. 1800, East Dereham, Norfolk). Poeta británico. Durante toda su… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Cowper, William — (1731 1800)    Poet, was the s. of the Rev. John C., Rector of Great Berkhampstead, Herts, and Chaplain to George II. His grandfather was a judge, and he was the grand nephew of the 1st Earl C., the eminent Lord Chancellor. A shy and timid child …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Cowper,William — Cow·per (ko͞oʹpər, kouʹ , ko͝opʹər), William. 1731 1800. British poet considered a precursor of romanticism. His best known work, The Task (1785), praises rural life and leisure. * * * …   Universalium

  • Cowper, William Cowper, 1st Earl, Viscount Fordwich — ▪ English lawyer and politician also called  (1706–18) Baron Cowper Of Wingham   born c. 1665 died Oct. 10, 1723, Colne Green, Hertfordshire, Eng.  English lawyer and a leading Whig politician who was the first lord high chancellor of Great… …   Universalium

  • COWPER, William (1778-1858) — early clergyman was born at Whittington, England, on 28 December 1778. His father was a yeoman farmer. At 17 years of age Cowper became a tutor in a clergyman s family, and some time later was a clerk in the Royal engineers department at Hull. He …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • COWPER, William Macquarie (1810-1902) — dean of Sydney son of Rev. William Cowper, D.D (q.v.), was born at Sydney on 3 July 1810. Educated by his father and at Oxford he graduated B.A., 1833, and M.A. 1835. On returning to Australia in 1836 he was chaplain at Port Stephens for 20 years …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • COWPER, WILLIAM —    a popular English poet, born at Great Berkhampstead, Hertford, of noble lineage; lost his mother at six, and cherished the memory of her all his days; of a timid, sensitive nature, suffered acutely from harsh usage at school; read extensively… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Cowper, William —  (1731–1800) English poet; pronounced [cooper] …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”