William Cowper

Alice Hang
Dis 1B Fridays 11-12pm
He committed suicide at 1763 but failed. Then he thought he would be forever damned because he committed this "unforgivable act of God." He lived with a family by the name of Unwin and absorbed Evangelical teachings. However in 1773, he had an attack of madness or mental breakdown and thought that God really casted him out. He never again attended church. Instead of Church, he diverted his mind from despair my doing innocent chores like tending his garden or taking a walk.

Cowper wrote "The Task." It's a mock-heroic account about a sofa becoming a stool but it developed into a detailed account of his life and analysis of London, England.
In this poem, nature is framed. In line 165 of the poem, the landscape shapes and directs our point of view. He says that nature inspires us and becomes our muse, rather than us controlling it.