William Cowper ( /ˈkuːpər/ KOO-pər; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) 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.
While Cowper found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity, the inspiration behind his much-loved hymns, he often experienced doubt and feared that he was doomed to eternal damnation. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton (who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace") led to much of the poetry for which he is best remembered. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave the English language the idiom "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform."
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... Cowpers eldest son William Cowper was clerk of parliament and the father of General William Cowper of Hertingfordbury Park (MP) ... His second son, John, was the father of William Cowper the poet ... His third son Ashley was also clerk of parliament and a barrister, and the father of Theodora Cowper (with whom the poet fell in love) and Harriot ...
... Fanshawe disabled from sitting - seat vacant 1645 William Leman December 1648 Cranborne not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge 1653 Hertford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament 1654 ... Edward Spencer Cowper Whig Nicolson Calvert Whig 1817 Viscount Cranborne Tory 1823 Thomas Byron 1826 Thomas Slingsby Duncombe Radical 1830 Viscount Ingestrie Tory 1831 John Currie ... William Francis Cowper Whig Viscount Mahon Conservative 1852 Thomas Chambers Whig 1857 Sir Walter Minto Townshend-Farquhar Conservative 1859 Liberal 1866 Robert ...
Famous quotes containing the word cowper:
“Oh! for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heav’nly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)