William Cowper, The Diverting History of John Gilpin

Neil Curry (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1782

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

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Writing to the Rev. William Unwin on 18th November 1782, William Cowper observed that, “…strange as it may seem, the most ludicrous lines I ever wrote have been written in the saddest mood, and, but for that saddest mood, perhaps had never been written at all” (1). He was no doubt thinking of

John Gilpin

, which had been prompted, as

The Task

was also to be the following year, by Lady Austen. An attractive and vivacious widow in her early forties, Lady Austen had become, rather surprisingly, a close friend of Cowper after moving into the area to be near to her sister. Visiting him one evening in the summer of 1781 and finding him in one of his deep depressions, she attempted to cheer him by telling him a story she had heard in her youth. At first he was not impressed, but then he…

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1010 words

Citation: Curry, Neil. "The Diverting History of John Gilpin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21549, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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