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William Cowper
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English poet and hymnodist (1731–1800)
William Cowper was an English poet and writer of hymns who lived from 1731 to 1800 and is remembered for his contributions to English literature during the 18th century. His works, which include both poetry and religious hymns, made him an important literary figure of his time.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- William
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Place of birth
- Berkhamsted
- Place of death
- Dereham
- Educated at
- Westminster School
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- Anglicanism
- Movement
- Romanticism
- Image
- William Cowper by Lemuel Francis Abbott.jpg
- Work location
- Switzerland
- Residence
- Weston Underwood
Show 14 more facts
- Commons category
- William Cowper
- date of death
- 1800-04-14
- date of birth
- 1731-11-15
- place of burial
- Norfolk
- Commons gallery
- William Cowper
- cause of death
- edema
- writing language
- English language
- nickname
- Bard of Olney
- ethnic group
- English people
- start of work period
- 1778-01-01
- end of work period
- 1793-01-01
- significant person
- John Newton
- P12749
- Nicholas Mahudel
- manner of death
- natural causes
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
32 objects attributed to William Cowper, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
William Cowper (26 November [O.S. 15 November] 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter.
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. 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".
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “William Cowper” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.