The story of English literature for young readers . ritic, and by these three plays he will always beknown and admired. Sheridan wrote other plays,and also entered quite a difficult career. He becamea member of Parliament, where he distinguishedhimself by making one of the greatest speeches everuttered in the House of Commons. The occasionwas the trial of Warren Hastings, who had beenGovernor General of India, and was accused of grossmismanagement and fraud. Sheridan might haveearned the highest place in the history of his time,but for his unfortunate habits. He died in 1816. William Cowper, b
The story of English literature for young readers . ritic, and by these three plays he will always beknown and admired. Sheridan wrote other plays,and also entered quite a difficult career. He becamea member of Parliament, where he distinguishedhimself by making one of the greatest speeches everuttered in the House of Commons. The occasionwas the trial of Warren Hastings, who had beenGovernor General of India, and was accused of grossmismanagement and fraud. Sheridan might haveearned the highest place in the history of his time,but for his unfortunate habits. He died in 1816. William Cowper, born in 1731, was a poet of widecelebrity in his day, and his comic ballad, John Gil-i)in, and famous poem The Task, are still read withenjoyment and profit. Cowpers life was extremelysad. He was afflicted with a nervous melancholywhich sometimes iresulted in outbreaks of insanity; For Youn^ Rcaaers. 35? but his periods of rest were clieered by kind friends,among whom a Mrs. Unwin and Lady Austen werethe nearest. Cowper was the son of a clergyman ;. William Cowpek. he chose the law as his profession and occupiedrooms in the Temple where he used to spend moretime in writing gay verses and dining with literaryfriends than in looking: for legal work. His father 358 The Story of English Literature died leaving him but a scanty income, and his men-tal affliction debarred him from accepting the gov-ernment appointment which his friends secured forhim. For a time he had to be sent to an asylum,and on coming out he went to his kind friends, theUnwins. Here it was that he met Lady Austen, whotold him the comical story of John Gilpins ride,which he immediately put into verse. The samelady afterwards suggested to him a poem of greaterlength. ? I will set you a task, she said one day. What shall it be ? asked Cowper. Oh, begin about anything, answered Lady Aus-ten, the sofa, touching the one on which she sat. Forthwith Cowper developed his idea of a longpoem in blank verse which he called T
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectenglishliterature
