In the tumultuous landscape of seventeenth-century English literature, few figures shine with such early brilliance yet fade with such puzzling rapidity as Abraham Cowley. Born in 1618 in London, this prodigious poet who published his first collection at fifteen, who dazzled the cavalier court and influenced an entire generation of writers, who was buried in Westminster Abbey beside Chaucer and Spenser, somehow slipp…
“Books should to one of these four ends conduce: for wisdom, piety, delight, or use.”
Neighbourhood:
Cavalier Poets, Metaphysical Poets, Restoration Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Wonder
1 live poem · Old English
In the dim, torch-lit mead hall of a seventh-century Northumbrian monastery, a solitary figure slipped quietly away from the gathering. While his companions sat in warm camaraderie, passing around the harp and singing verses of praise and legend, Cædmon, the cowherd, chose exile over embarrassment. He could not sing. He knew no poetry. And in a culture where the art of song was the highest expression of human creativ…
“I cannot sing; and for this reason I left the feast and went to the stable when I saw the harp coming towards me.”
Neighbourhood:
Classical & Ancient Poets, Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Medieval Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets
Emotional landscape: Spirituality, Wonder, Peace
