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
says wife
Says John, It is my wedding-day, / And all the world would stare, / If wife should dine at Edmonton, / And I should dine at Ware.
army-and-navy concern customs great motley says sees
He sees that this great roundaboutThe world, with all its motley rout,Church, army, physic, law,Its customs and its businesses,Is no concern at all of his,And says -- what says he? -- Caw.
concern customs great motley says sees
He sees that this great roundabout The world, with all its motley rout, Church, army, physic, law, Its customs and its businesses, Is no concern at all of his, And says -- what says he? -- Caw.
amongst fool fools fools-and-foolishness invites loaded looks owes says wit
A fool with judges, amongst fools a judge: / He says but little, and that little said / Owes all its weight, like loaded dice, to lead. / His wit invites you by his looks to come, / But when you knock, it never is at home.
dares safety
He that dares traduce, because he can with safety to himself, is not a man.
chose nor pebble spear sword
Nor sword nor spear the stripling took, / But chose a pebble from the brook.
doth next ride
Now let us sing, Long live the king, / And Gilpin, long live he; / And when he next doth ride abroad, / May I be there to see!
drawing dropping empty growing toil
From reveries so airy, from the toil / Of dropping buckets into empty wells, / And growing old in drawing nothing up.
domestic happiness paradise survived thou
Domestic happiness, thou only blissOf Paradise that has survived the fall!
delights misery trace
But misery still delights to trace / Its semblance in another's case.
horseback ride
So you must ride / On horseback after we.
intervals music soft village
How soft the music of those village bellsFalling at intervals upon the earIn cadence sweet!
contest dust great involves learned
Great contest follows, and much learned dust / Involves the combatants.
enthusiast half mankind till wild
No wild enthusiast ever yet could rest, till half of mankind were, like himself, possest