At times William Cowper was not very sane
But even psychologists find it hard to explain
That some when mentally unbalanced write their best poetry
And so it was with Cowper and few as great as he.
When mentally unwell his genius did flower
At such times some do have more creative power
And as a poet Cowper he surely was great
His poems with the best of his era do rate.
The poems of Cowper are popular today
The flowering of genius is slow to decay
Despite mental illness he was a literary success
Though he knew of sadness and unhappiness.
He often felt suicidal due to mental strife
The poor fellow Cowper he had a hard life
But despite nervous break-downs beyond his life's prime
He penned some great poetry which lives on in time.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
'Thus necessity invented stools, Convenience next suggest elbow-chairs, And Luxury the accomplished Sofo last.' Yes, 'God moves in mysterious way His wonders to perform; ' The first from a poem penned in answer to a challenge to write a poem about - a sofa. Which is titled, 'The Task.' And the second, from 'Light shining in darkness.' *** It would be interesting to know if Cowper might have be treated by physicians in those days when Calomel or mercuric chloride was prescribed for a wide range of problems and caused a great deal of mental anguish and distress. Abe Lincoln is said to have been so treated and suffered bouts of depression not unlike William Cowper. s