"The Morning Dream", William Cowper Anti-Slavery Poem
British slave owner with two slaves kneeling before him whom he was about to whip; Britannia appears with the radiant glow of a goddess, causing the man to drop his whip. Includes four lines from "The Morning Dream", a poem by William Cowper. William Cowper (November 26, 1731 - April 25, 1800) was an English poet. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. After being institutionalized for insanity (1763-65), Cowper found refuge in evangelical Christianity. He continued to suffer doubt and, after a dream in 1773, believed that he was doomed to eternal damnation. He also wrote a number of anti-slavery poems and his friendship with Newton, who was an avid anti-slavery campaigner, resulted in Cowper being asked to write in support of the Abolitionist campaign. He wrote a poem called "The Negro's Complaint" (1788) which rapidly became very famous. Cowper was seized with dropsy in the spring of 1800 and died at the age of 68.
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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: &, abolition, abolitionist, anti-slavery, antislavery, black, britannia, bw, campaigner, chattel, cowper, crusader, dream, english, historic, historical, history, industry, infamous, morning, movement, notorious, owner, poem, slave, slavery, trade, white, william
