On The Benefit Received By His Majesty From Sea-Bathing In The Year 1789.

O sovereign of an isle renownd
For undisputed sway,
Wherever oer yon gulf profound
Her navies wing their way,


With juster claims she builds at length
Her empire on the sea,
And well may boast the waves her strength,
Which strength restored to thee.

William Cowper

William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist known for his contributions to English literature and the Evangelical revival of the 18th century. He suffered from periods of severe depression and mental illness, which influenced much of his work. Despite his struggles, Cowper produced notable works including 'Olney Hymns' in collaboration with John Newton and 'The Task,' which gained considerable popularity. His poetry is often characterized by its introspective, religious, and sometimes melancholic themes.

William Cowper

That Nature Is Not Subject To Decay.

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

On The Platonic 'Ideal' As It Was Understood By Aristotle.

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

On A Mistake In His Translation Of Homer.

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

On the Death of the Vice-Chancellor, A Physician.[1]

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

To The Rev. Mr. Newton, On His Return From Ramsgate.

That ocean you have late surveyd,
Those rocks I too have seen;
But I, afflicted and dismayd,
You, tranquil and serene.


You from the flood-controlling steep
Saw stretchd before your view,
With conscious joy, the threatening deep,
No longer such to you.


To me the waves, that ceaseless broke
Upon the dangerous coast,
Hoarsely and ominously spoke
Of all my treasure lost.


Your sea of troubles you have past,
And found the peaceful shore;
I, tempest-tossd, and wreckd at last,
Come home to port no more.

William Cowper

Annus Memorabilis, 1789. Written In Commemoration Of His Majestys Happy Recovery.

I ransackd for a theme of song,
Much ancient chronicle, and long;
I read of bright embattled fields,
Of trophied helmets, spears, and shields,
Of chiefs, whose single arm could boast
Prowess to dissipate a host;
Through tomes of fable and of dream
I sought an eligible theme,
But none I found, or found them shared
Already by some happier bard.
To modern times, with truth to guide
My busy search, I next applied;
Here cities won, and fleets dispersed,
Urged loud a claim to be rehearsed,
Deeds of unperishing renown,
Our fathers triumphs and our own.
Thus as the bee, from bank to bower,
Assiduous sips at every flower,
But rests on none till that be found
Where most nectareous sweets abound,
So I, from theme to theme displayd
In many a pa...

William Cowper

To Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Dear President, whose art sublime
Gives perpetuity to time,
And bids transactions of a day,
That fleeting hours would waft away
To dark futurity, survive,
And in unfading beauty live,
You cannot with a grace decline
A special mandate of the Nine
Yourself, whatever task you choose,
So much indebted to the Muse.
Thus say the sisterhood:We come
Fix well your pallet on your thumb,
Prepare the pencil and the tints
We come to furnish you with hints.
French disappointment, British glory,
Must be the subject of the story.
First strike a curve, a graceful bow,
Then slope it to a point below;
Your outline easy, airy, light,
Filld up becomes a paper kite.
Let independence, sanguine, horrid,
Blaze like a meteor in the forehead:
Beneath ...

William Cowper

Verses, Supposed To Be Written By Alexander Selkirk, During His Solitary Abode In The Island Of Juan Fernandez.

I am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute;
From the centre all round to the sea
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms
Than reign in this horrible place.


I am out of humanitys reach,
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech,
I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts, that roam over the plain,
My form with indifference see;
They are so unacquainted with man,
Their tameness is shocking to me.


Society, friendship, and love,
Divinely bestowd upon man,
O, had I the wings of a dove,
How soon would I taste you again!
My sorrows I then might assuage
In the ways of reli...

William Cowper

To William Hayley, Esq.

Dear architect of fine chateaux in air,
Worthier to stand for ever, if they could,
Than any built of stone or yet of wood,
For back of royal elephant to bear!


O for permission from the skies to share,
Much to my own, though little to thy good,
With thee (not subject to the jealous mood!)
A partnership of literary ware!


But I am bankrupt now; and doomd henceforth
To drudge, in descant dry, on others lays;
Bards, I acknowledge, of unequalled birth!
But what his commentators happiest praise?


That he has furnishd lights for other eyes,
Which they who need them use, and then despise.

William Cowper

On The Queens Visit To London. The Night Of The Seventeenth Of March 1789.

When, long sequesterd from his throne,
George took his seat again,
By right of worth, not blood alone,
Entitled here to reign,


Then loyalty, with all his lamps
New trimmd, a gallant show!
Chasing the darkness and the damps,
Set London in a glow.


Twas hard to tell, of streets or squares
Which formd the chief display,
These most resembling clusterd stars,
Those the long milky way.


Bright shone the roofs, the domes, the spires,
And rockets flew, self-driven,
To hang their momentary fires
Amid the vault of heaven.


So, fire with water to compare,
The ocean serves, on high
Up-spouted by a whale in air,
To express unwieldy joy.


Had all the pageants of the world
In one procession...

William Cowper