Today, near the village of Weston Underwood, Buckinghamshire, UK stands a folly named ‘Cowper’s Alcove’. The folly was built by the Throckmorton family in 1753, and when William Cowper moved to the area, the family of Weston Underwood Hall put the gardens and park at his disposal, including the alcove. Cowper is known to visit here frequently for inspiration for his poetry and the alcove is mentioned in The Task, written in 1878 when Cowper’s friend Lady Austen challenged him to write a poem with a sofa as the theme. Initially intending to compose only a few lines, the work somehow turned into the six books that make up The Task, which is usually seen as his supreme achievement. [1]
William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. He was hugely popular in the 18th century and wrote about everyday life and people in the English countryside.
Born on 26 November 1731, Cowper was the son of Dr John Cowper, Chaplain of George II and Rector of a parish church in Berkhamsted, and he had the misfortune to lose his mother, Ann, when he was just six years old. Growing up, his mother’s family instilled in young William a love of reading and gave him some of his first books. However, nearly all his life he was affected by a spirit of melancholy and, at times he was treated for insanity. Yet in his lucid intervals he produced some of the most beautiful hymns in the English language.
Most people are familiar with his lines “God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform” but much of Cowper’s poetry has now sunk from sight. The evangelical nature has dated them for the modern reader.
Cowper never married, but did fall in love with his cousin, Theodora. Her family opposed marriage on account of his mental instability, and they parted, never to meet again. Theodora also remained single; and throughout her life she treasured the poems Cowper had addressed to her and maintained a constant, though secret, interest in his welfare.
Cowper is remembered today by people who love the writings of Jane Austen, because he was one of her favourite poets. She quoted him in Mansfield Park and Emma, and often referred to his works in her letters.
William Cowper died on 25 April 1800, aged 68.
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