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William Cowper
(1731-1800)

Active: 1779-1800 in England, Britain, Europe

By Joseph Musser (Ohio Wesleyan University)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: England, Britain, Europe
  • Born In: England, Britain, Europe
  • Activity: Poet, Autobiographer, Religious Writer

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Engraving by William Holl the Younger after an unidentified artist, 1853. Courtesy The Walter Scott Digital Archive, Edinburgh University Library.

William Cowper (1731-1800) is notable as both a poet and a letter-writer. His poetry was among the most popular in England from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. The OED cites about 6,000 quotations from Cowper, over twice as many as from Wordsworth. And G

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First published 04 October 2004

Citation: Musser, Joseph. "William Cowper". The Literary Encyclopedia. 4 October 2004.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1049, accessed 9 February 2010.]