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Hope: Complete and Unabridged
By William Cowper
read by Alex Wyndham
“ …The just Creator condescends to write,
In beams of inextinguishable light,
His names of wisdom, goodness, power, and love,
On all that blooms below, or shines above;
To catch the wandering notice of mankind,
And teach the world, if not perversely blind…..”
William Cowper (1731 – 1800) was born in Hertfordshire, England. His hymns and poems are well known all over the world.
read by Alex Wyndham
“ …The just Creator condescends to write,
In beams of inextinguishable light,
His names of wisdom, goodness, power, and love,
On all that blooms below, or shines above;
To catch the wandering notice of mankind,
And teach the world, if not perversely blind…..”
William Cowper (1731 – 1800) was born in Hertfordshire, England. His hymns and poems are well known all over the world.
Audiobook
First published September 28, 2015
About the author
William Cowper
1,446 books58 followers
The Task
, best-known work of William Cowper, British poet, considered a precursor of romanticism, in 1785 praises rural life and leisure.
William Cowper served as an English hymnodist. Cowper, one most popular man of his time, wrote of everyday nature scenes of the English countryside and thus changed the direction of 18th century. In many ways, he foreran later authors. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "modern," whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired Yardley-Oak . He a nephew of Judith Madan.
From severe manic depression, Cowper suffered, found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity, the inspiration behind his much-loved hymns, often experienced doubt, and feared doom to eternal damnation. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton (who wrote Amazing Grace , the hymn) led to much memorable writing.
William Cowper served as an English hymnodist. Cowper, one most popular man of his time, wrote of everyday nature scenes of the English countryside and thus changed the direction of 18th century. In many ways, he foreran later authors. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "modern," whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired Yardley-Oak . He a nephew of Judith Madan.
From severe manic depression, Cowper suffered, found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity, the inspiration behind his much-loved hymns, often experienced doubt, and feared doom to eternal damnation. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton (who wrote Amazing Grace , the hymn) led to much memorable writing.
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July 3, 2019I wanted to read Cowper because William Wilberforce loved his poetry. Admittedly, I am not a lover of poetry. There were a few sections of Hope that were really lovely. Often I feel like rhyming couplets sacrifice substance for form, but Cowper’s seemed less contrived than most.
However, my biggest issue is I feel like I just didn’t understand it. I can’t follow the flow of thought, and I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know enough to interpret it, or because Cowper was just writing a stream of consciousness. My edition named the sections, which ranged from ones I could understand (“The works of the Creator evidence his attributes”) to ones I had no clue about (“Character of Leuconomus,” “Simile of Ethelred’s Hospitality,” etc). I just felt lost. I did read the short biography of Cowper in my edition, which shed light on a few things in the poem, like his despair and depression, contrasted with hope.
I don’t feel like I can rate the book since I honestly don’t know if the fault lies with me or the poetry. Some parts were beautiful, some parts were baffling.
However, my biggest issue is I feel like I just didn’t understand it. I can’t follow the flow of thought, and I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know enough to interpret it, or because Cowper was just writing a stream of consciousness. My edition named the sections, which ranged from ones I could understand (“The works of the Creator evidence his attributes”) to ones I had no clue about (“Character of Leuconomus,” “Simile of Ethelred’s Hospitality,” etc). I just felt lost. I did read the short biography of Cowper in my edition, which shed light on a few things in the poem, like his despair and depression, contrasted with hope.
I don’t feel like I can rate the book since I honestly don’t know if the fault lies with me or the poetry. Some parts were beautiful, some parts were baffling.
Displaying 1 of 1 review