William Cowper

author

William Cowper

1731–1800

A bestselling poet in his own lifetime, he helped steer English verse toward everyday speech, quiet feeling, and close attention to the natural world. He is also remembered for beloved hymns and for translations that kept his work in readers’ hands long after the eighteenth century.

2 Audiobooks

The Works of William Cowper His life, letters, and poems, now first completed by the introduction of Cowper's private correspondence

The Works of William Cowper His life, letters, and poems, now first completed by the introduction of Cowper's private correspondence

by William Cowper

The Task, and Other Poems

The Task, and Other Poems

by William Cowper

About the author

Born in Hertfordshire in 1731, William Cowper was an English poet and hymn writer whose work became widely read in Britain. He is often seen as a bridge between the polished style of earlier eighteenth-century poetry and the more personal, nature-focused writing that followed, especially through poems such as The Task and the comic ballad The Diverting History of John Gilpin.

Cowper’s life was marked by long periods of severe mental distress, and that struggle shaped both his career and the emotional depth of his writing. He formed an important friendship with the clergyman John Newton, collaborating on the Olney Hymns, which includes texts such as “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Alongside his original poetry, he also produced a well-known translation of Homer.

What keeps Cowper interesting is the way his poetry feels both gentle and direct. He wrote about country life, ordinary experience, faith, sorrow, and companionship in language that many readers found fresh and human, and his influence can still be felt in later English poetry.