The Complete Poetical Works of William Cowper
The Complete Poetical Works of William Cowper contains all of William Cowper’s poems, hymns, and poetry translations. This volume includes:
- The Task, considered by many his best collection of poems
- The Olney Hymns, his collaboration with John Newton—author of “Amazing Grace”
- Classic poems such as “Table Talk,” “The Progress of Error,” “Tirocinium,” and “Retirement”
- Over 100 miscellaneous hymns
- Plus Cowper’s translations of dozens of Latin and Greek classics!
The Complete Poetical Works of William Cowper also contains a bibliography of all his writings, a biographical table of his life events, an appendix filled with fragmentary and impromptu verses, and an index of first lines.
Check out the William Cowper Collection (6 vols.)
- Title: The Complete Poetical Works of William Cowper
- Author: William Cowper
- Editor: H. S. Milford
- Publisher: Henry Frowde
- Publication Date: 1905
- Pages: 672
About William Cowper
William Cowper (1731–1800) was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. Studying for a career in law, he was offered a clerkship of journals in the House of Lords in 1763. Before he could take his final exams, he suffered a mental breakdown and spent time in an asylum to recover from several suicide attempts. It was after his recovery that he moved in with the Unwin family—a retired clergyman and his wife. Through this family he would meet John Newton, and the two of them would collaborate on the Olney Hymns. Cowper continued to battle depression, but he also continued to write and publish poems; he was a prolific letter writer. In 1786, Cowper began translating Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey into blank verse. They were published to great acclaim in 1791. Over the next years, he would take on other translation projects, including works of Greek and Italian poetry. In 1800, Cowper was suddenly hit with edema and passed away. He was buried in the chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Nicholas Church, East Dereham.