To Warren Hastings, Esq. By An Old Schoolfellow Of His At Westminster.

Hastings! I knew thee young, and of a mind,
While young, humane, conversable, and kind,
Nor can I well believe thee, gentle then,
Now grown a villain, and the worst of men.
But rather some suspect, who have oppressd
And worried thee, as not themselves the best.

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

Lines Addressed To Dr. Darwin, Author Of The Botanic Garden.

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

Epigram Printed In The Northampton Mercury.

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

Lines Composed For A Memorial Of Ashley Cowper, Esq. Immediately After His Death, By His Nephew William Of Weston.

William Cowper, Simple Poetry

Not Of Works.

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.

Sonnet, Addressed To Henry Cowper, Esq.

On His Emphatical And Interesting Delivery Of The Defence Of Warren Hastings, Esq., In The House Of Lords.


Cowper, whose silver voice, taskd sometimes hard,
Legends prolix delivers in the ears
(Attentive when thou readst) of Englands peers,
Let verse at length yield thee thy just reward.


Thou wast not heard with drowsy disregard,
Expending late on all that length of plea
Thy generous powers, but silence honourd thee,
Mute as eer gazed on orator or bard.


Thou art not voice alone, but hast beside
Both heart and head; and couldst with music sweet
Of Attic phrase and senatorial tone,
Like thy renownd forefathers, far and wide
Thy fame diffuse, praised not for utterance meet
Of others speech, but magic of thy own.

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

An Epistle To Joseph Hill, Esq.

Dear Joseph,--five and twenty years ago--
Alas, how time escapes!--'tis even so--
With frequent intercourse, and always sweet
And always friendly, we were wont to cheat
A tedious hour--and now we never meet.
As some grave gentleman in Terence says
('Twas therefore much the same in ancient days),
"Good lack, we know not what to-morrow brings--
Strange fluctuation of all human things!"
True. Changes will befall, and friends may part,
But distance only cannot change the heart:
And were I called to prove the assertion true,
One proof should serve--a reference to you.

Whence comes it, then, that in the wane of life,
Though nothing have occurred to kindle strife,
We find the friends we fancied we had won,
Though numerous once, reduced to few or none?
Can ...

William Cowper

Sonnet To William Wilberforce, Esq.

Thy country, Wilberforce, with just disdain,
Hears thee by cruel men and impious calld
Fanatic, for thy zeal to loose the enthralld
From exile, public sale, and slaverys chain.
Friend of the poor, the wrongd, the fetter-galld,
Fear not lest labour such as thine be vain.
Thou hast achieved a part; hast gaind the ear
Of Britains senate to thy glorious cause;
Hope smiles, joy springs, and, though cold caution pause
And weave delay, the better hour is near
That shall remunerate thy toils severe,
By peace for Afric, fenced with British laws.
Enjoy what thou hast won, esteem and love
From all the just on earth, and all the blest above.

William Cowper

Lines Addressed To Miss Theodora Jane Cowper.

William was once a bashful youth,
His modesty was such,
That one might say, to say the truth,
He rather had too much.


Some said that it was want of sense,
And others, want of spirit
(So blest a thing is impudence),
While others could not bear it.


But some a different notion had,
And, at each other winking,
Observed that though he little said,
He paid it off with thinking.


Howeer, it happend, by degrees,
He mended, and grew perter,
In company was more at ease,
And dressd a little smarter;


Nay, now and then, could look quite gay,
As other people do;
And sometimes said, or tried to say,
A witty thing or so.


He eyed the women, and made free
To comment on their shapes,
So t...

William Cowper

Lines Written In Windsor Park.

When Pope to Satire gave its lawful way,
And made the Nimrods of Mankind his prey;
When haughty Windsor heard through every wood
Their shame, who durst be great, yet not be good;
Who, drunk with power, and with ambition blind,
Slaves to themselves, and monsters to mankind,
Sinking the man, to magnify the prince,
Were heretofore, what Stuarts have been since:
Could he have look'd into the womb of Time,
How might his spirit in prophetic rhyme,
Inspired by virtue, and for freedom bold,
Matters of different import have foretold!
How might his Muse, if any Muse's tongue
Could equal such an argument, have sung
One William,^[1] who makes all mankind his care,
And shines the saviour of his country there!
One William, who to every heart gives law;
The so...

Charles Churchill