In this selection, which includes the finest of the short poems and extracts from the longer ones, there is ample evidence of the quality of Cowper's faith and of his eye and ear. There are also indications of how his life, in many ways, tragic and unfulfilled, was sustained by his writing, for he wrote not to expose his misery but to engage in discourse with friends and with the natural world. He has a gift for detailed, delighted perception which makes even known things fresh and amusing. In his illness and distress, he expresses at times a profound gratitude for the simple and clarifing moment of life, its points of stability and love. The poems are personal but in general (with a few harrowi9ng exceptions) avoid confession and introspection. There are few poets of his stature and range so benign, and so memorable. Nick Rhodes provides a biographical and critical introduction to his timely selection.
