[This paper was delivered in Leicester as an invited lecture at the annual conference of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 23 July 2002. It has been revised for publication. Thanks are due to the Hymn Society for their kind permission for the text to appear in this journal.] On 13 October 1928,
The Imagination may be compared to Adam’s dream – he awoke and found it truth. To Benjamin Bailey, 22 Nov. 18171 Keats’s reference to Adam’s dream recalls that section of Book VIII of Milton’s Paradise Lost in which Adam tells the angel Raphael what he remembers of his creation and entry into conscious life. A
An important sidelight on Cowper is the range and quality of the illustrations of his poems and environment in editions and other books, by artists including Richard Westall, Henry Fuseli, John Flaxman, and J. and H.S. Storer, the latter, father and son, being responsible (with John Greig) for the celebrated Cowper Illustrated (1803) and, an
Among the several types of collectable ephemera, cigarette cards are one of the most fascinating. Issued in their millions from the 1880s through to the outbreak of the Second World War (and later in occasional series and with cigar brands), they comprise a rich reflection of historical events and circumstance, were long a core source
Cowper is one of the great hymn writers. There can be few people, however, who know that there is a hymn tune named after him. Composed by J.G. Whittaker, it appears in Companion Tunes to Gadsby’s Hymnbook (1927), a substantial compilation of old favourites and newer pieces intended, as the title suggests, to meet the
The concept of home was much on Cowper’s mind throughout his career. Most conspicuous, perhaps, are the sections of The Task (1785) that mark him as the celebrant of domestic life, its pleasures and its virtues: Domestic happiness, thou only bliss Of Paradise that has survived the fall! Though few now taste thee unimpair’d and
Recent issues of the journal have included not only full-scale articles on relations between Cowper and other authors but also shorter ones noting brief yet suggestive references to the poet or his work. Another of these citations comes in Vera Brittain’s celebrated autobiography of the First World War period, Testament of Youth, published in 1933.
‘’Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat To peep at such a world … (The Task, IV. 88-89)1 By 1787 William Cowper had made his reputation as a poet, not least with John Gilpin (1782) and The Task (1785), both of which achieved swift popularity. One day in November he was sitting quietly at home
Mark Rutherford Recalls Cowper: A Study of Some Allusions Vincent Newey We have learnt, however, from Zachariah that even before Wordsworth’s days people were sometimes touched by dawn or sunset. The morning cheered, the moon lent pathos and sentiment, and the stars awoke unanswerable interrogations in Cowfold, although it knew no poetry, save Dr. Watts,
Editions of the Writings of William Cowper An Annotated Bibliography 1960-2013 Vincent Newey This bibliography of editions complements Ashley Chantler’s cumulative record of critical writing on Cowper since 1980, which is a regular feature of the journal. A list of editions published before 1960 is included in Lodwick Hartley, William Cowper: The Continuing Revaluation: An
Cowper’s Task: An Unexpected Reference Vincent Newey While tidying some personal papers recently I rediscovered a letter I received in 1990 from the poet and critic Philip Hobsbaum, then teaching at the University of Glasgow. One of his reasons for writing was to tell me of a reference to Cowper he had come across unexpectedly
Our Museum building remains CLOSED. We are opening our gardens on limited entry. The Cowper & Newton Museum gardens will be open to welcome you on Wednesday 5th August 10.30 – 12.15 and Saturday 8th August 10.30 – 12.15
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