Autobiography of william cowper

English poet and hymnodist (–)

This article is about the poet. For other people with the same name, see William Cowper (disambiguation).

William Cowper (KOO-pər; 15 November (Julian)^[2] / 26 November (Gregorian) – 14 April (Julian)^[2] / 25 April (Gregorian)) was an English poet and Anglicanhymnwriter.

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.

The life of William Cowper, with selections from his …

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".^[3]

After being institutionalised for insanity, Cowper found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity. He continued to suffer doubt about his salvation and, after a dream in , believed that he was doomed to eternal damnation.

He recovered, and went on to write more relig