Selections from Cowper's PoemsMacmillan, 1883 - 234 pages |
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Page vi
... less heroic a period , loses but little from the fact that his ways of thinking and the very air he breathes are different from ours . And when the adventitious circumstances which enhance the poetry at its first bursting forth are ...
... less heroic a period , loses but little from the fact that his ways of thinking and the very air he breathes are different from ours . And when the adventitious circumstances which enhance the poetry at its first bursting forth are ...
Page vii
... less than Cowper in intrinsic merit , that if he loses this standing ground , no other will be left of appreciable magnitude , and he must go altogether if he fails at all ; but at the same time he is far safer than Cowper , insomuch as ...
... less than Cowper in intrinsic merit , that if he loses this standing ground , no other will be left of appreciable magnitude , and he must go altogether if he fails at all ; but at the same time he is far safer than Cowper , insomuch as ...
Page xii
... less profound indeed , but more simple , more disinterested than any of these . " The language of genuine poetry , " says Mr. Matthew Arnold with a refer- ence to Wordsworth's criticism of Dryden , " is the language of one composing ...
... less profound indeed , but more simple , more disinterested than any of these . " The language of genuine poetry , " says Mr. Matthew Arnold with a refer- ence to Wordsworth's criticism of Dryden , " is the language of one composing ...
Page xviii
... less amenable to its gentle rule , that the ideal has somewhat palled upon us , and that , in our profound experience of those defects which are inseparable from every human advantage , we are less sure of the supreme superiority of the ...
... less amenable to its gentle rule , that the ideal has somewhat palled upon us , and that , in our profound experience of those defects which are inseparable from every human advantage , we are less sure of the supreme superiority of the ...
Page xx
... less brilliant . But Pope was the king of that manner and period , as Cowper was of his own and later age , and could no more have taken Cowper's walk in the snow than Cowper could have blasted Atticus . Yet our poet , we allow , was ...
... less brilliant . But Pope was the king of that manner and period , as Cowper was of his own and later age , and could no more have taken Cowper's walk in the snow than Cowper could have blasted Atticus . Yet our poet , we allow , was ...
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Common terms and phrases
bard beauty beneath birds Book breath charms Cowper dear death delight distant divine dream earth ease Edmonton fair faith fame fancy farewell fast fear feel flower gentle Gilpin GLOWWORM grace Greece half happy heard heart Heaven hope hopes and fears hour human John Gilpin king knew knows labour land landscape light Lord lost lurcher lyre Mary mind muse Naiads nature never nose o'er Olney once Ouse pain peace perhaps play pleasure poet poet's poetry poor postboy praise rapture scene scorn seems shade shine shrubs sigh sight silent skies slaves smile song soon sorrow soul sound SPANIEL sublime sweet Task tears tempest thee theme thine thou art thought toil tongue touch true truth Twas verse WARREN HASTINGS whate'er wind winter worth youth
Popular passages
Page 220 - With all her crew complete. Toll for the brave ! Brave Kempenfelt is gone; His last sea-fight is fought, His work of glory done. It was not in the battle; No tempest gave the shock ; She sprang no fatal leak, She ran upon no rock. His sword was in its sheath, His fingers held the pen, When Kempenfelt went down With twice four hundred men.
Page 26 - Tis pleasant, through the loopholes of retreat, To peep at such a world ; to see the stir Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd ; To hear the roar she sends through all her gates At a safe distance, where the dying sound Falls a soft murmur on th
Page 170 - So, Fair and softly ! John he cried ; But John he cried in vain, That trot became a gallop soon, In spite of curb and rein.
Page 158 - GOD moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform ; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs, And works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace ; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. His purposes will...
Page 131 - Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise, We love the playplace of our early days ; The scene is touching, and the heart is stone That feels not at that sight, and feels at none.
Page 82 - I would not have a slave to till my ground, To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd.
Page 81 - OH for a lodge in some vast wilderness, Some boundless contiguity of shade, Where rumour of oppression and deceit, Of unsuccessful or successful war Might never reach me more...
Page 169 - Although it grieved him sore, Yet loss of pence, full well he knew, Would trouble him much more. 'Twas long before the customers Were suited to their mind, When Betty, screaming, came down stairs, The wine is left behind ! Good lack ! quoth he — yet bring it me, My leathern belt likewise, In which I bear my trusty sword, When I do exercise.
Page 139 - The Lord of all, himself through all diffused, Sustains, and is the life of all that lives. Nature is but a name for an effect, Whose cause is God.
Page 167 - Gilpin's spouse said to her dear, "Though wedded we have been These twice ten tedious years, yet we No holiday have seen. " To-morrow is our wedding-day, And we will then repair Unto the Bell at Edmonton, All in a chaise and pair.