William Cowper The Task and Selected Other Poems [Paperback]

Having previously suffered neglect as a result of Pope's dominance of the period, William Cowper (1731-1800) has now become a far more important figure in eighteenth-century literature. Following the successful format of the series, Professor Sambrook's edition consists of a comprehensive, contextual editor's introduction together with substantial annotation on the page. The Task(1785) is the principal text discussed together with a selection of Cowper's other poems which cover a wide range of his subjects, moods and styles.

PART 1: Cowper's early life and writings  Madness, salvation and Mary Unwin; John Newton and Olney Hymns ; madness and reprobation; recovery - occasional poems and letters; moral satires; Lady Austen and light verse; The Task - a poem of composite order; The Task - idyllium and georgio; The Task - philosophical satire; The Task - baptized philosophy; Lady Hesketh and the Homer translation; last years; Cowper's place  PART 2: Early poems  On Finding the Heel of a Shoe; Delia, Th'unkindest Girl on Earth ; song - No More Shall Hapless Celia's Ears ; Epistle to Robert Lloyd; Doom'd, As I Am, In Solitude to Waste ; Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion   PART 3: Olney Hymns  Walking with God; Lovest Thou Me?; Praise for the Fountain Opened; Jehovah our Righteousness; I will Praise the Lord at all Times; Light Shining Out of Darkness  PART 4: Poems (1782)  The Progress of Error (lines 369-416); Truth (lines 131-64); Expostulation (lines 272-389); Hope (lines 663-771); Conversation (505-604); Retirement (365-480); Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk; Boadicea - an ode  PART 5: Later poems  The Diverting History of John Gilpin; The Colubriad; On the Loss of the Royal George; Epitaph on a Hare; Sweet Meat has Sour Sauce; On The Death of Mrs TlÓ)