The William Cowper Page
( 1731 - 1800 )
I know that Thou art infinitely gracious, but what will become of me ?
Major Works
The Task and Selected Other Poems is edited by James Sambrook and published by Longman, 1994. It is perhaps the best introduction to Cowper as it contains the major poem and a representative selection of Cowper's other work. The notes are most helpful, as is the bibliography.
Olney Hymns ( 1779 ). Collaboration with John Newton. This volume has been reprinted in facsimile in the bicentennial year of its first edition by the Trustees of the Cowper Newton Museum, 1979 ( Reprinted, 1984 and 1997 ).
Poems ( 1782 ).
"John Gilpin's Ride" ( 1782 ). First published anonymously. Local HTML Text On Line
Poems, Volume II ( 1785 ). This collection contained "The Task" and the finally acknowledged "John Gilpin."
Poems ( 1786; 1800 ).
The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse ( 1791 ).
Poems Translated from the French of Madame Guion ( 1801 ).
Autobiography ( 1816; 1835 ).
Correspondence. Edited by Thomas Wright. , 1904.
Poetical Works. Edited by Humphrey Milford. Oxford, 1934.
Two Poems
"The Colubriad". Local HTML Text On Line.
"The Castaway". Local HTML Text On Line.
Selected Poems from U. of Toronto.
About Cowper
David Cecil, The Stricken Deer; or, The Life of Cowper. Constable, 1929.
Maurice J. Quinlan, William Cowper: A Critical Life. Minnesota, 1953.
Robert Southey, The Life of Cowper. Published in 1835 - 37 as part of Southey's Life and Works of Cowper.
William Cowper. from Jack Lynch.
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