William Cowper was a popular English evangelist and poet of the eighteenth century. He was born during 1731 in Hertfordshire and was the first surviving child of his parents. His death occurred during 1800. During his active literary years, he is believed to have had the largest (or one of the greatest) readership of any English poet.
As an evangelist, Cowper used his sermons to advocate religious and humanitarian ideals, even touching on matters such as the anti-slavery movement as well as the great Revival. As a poet, his writing is also of a religious and humanitarian nature, highlighting matters such as the hardships of American slavery as well as the mysteriousness of God, among other things.
Some of his poems include "The Negro's Complaint," "God Moves in a Mysterious Way," "Light Shining out of Darkness," as well as "The Nightingale and Glow-worm." He has also written poems of a romantic nature, which are inspired by his own love affairs. On the other hand, Cowper's poems are mainly adaptations of other creative works, such as that of Abraham Cowley, John Milton, and Matt Prior.
