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On the Receipt of My Mother’s Picture, , ENGLISH CARE, , On the Receipt of My Mother’s Picture, By :- William Cowper (26th Nov. 1731 – 25th April 1800), , About the Poet :→ William Cowper was the son of John Cowper, chaplain to George II and rector of Berkhampstead., → Mother – Ann nee Donne, → William Cowper lost his mother when he was only six years old., → He and his brother John were the only two of seven children to live past infancy., → His mother died giving birth to John on 7th November 1737., → William Cowper is the best representative poet of the transition from Augustan values to Romanticism., → William Cowper belongs to the group of transitional poets like Thomson, William Blake, Thomas Gray, and William Collins ; whose period falls between the age of Pope and the age of Wordsworth. These pets, are called transitional because they carry with them the characteristics of the eighteenth century poetry –, ‘want of emotion’, ‘stress on reason’, ‘nature of man’, ‘town poetry’, ‘devotion to form’ and ‘medium of, heroic couplet’ ; the qualities of Romantic Revival of the nineteenth century can also be seen in their, writings., → Temperamentally, William Cowper was extremely sensitive, hence he, suffered from severe depression and had even attempted suicide. His failed, love also increased his grief., → He at first chose law and in 1754 was called to the bar, however he never, practiced as a lawyer and five years afterwards, received the appointment of, Bankruptcy and soon after of clerk of the Journals of the House of Lords., He resigned this immediately afterwards ; a morbid melancholy now seized, William Cowper, him., William Cowper, → Under the treatment of Dr. Cotton, he recovered the use of his abilities., → In 1795, he was in a state of complete dejection from which he never wholly recovered., → Cowper’s sensitiveness and melancholy enabled him to write elegiac verse which is sincere and pure, though not profound., → The most beautiful of his elegiac pieces are ‘On the Receipt of My Mother’s Picture’ and the poem ‘To, Mary’ (Mrs. Unwin)., → Among his other better known poems are ‘John Gilpin’ and his last poem ‘The Castaway’., → Cowper is not considered a great poet, he is a minor poet who must be read., → Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him ‘The Best Modern Poet’, whilst William Wordsworth particularly, admired his poem ‘Yardley-Oak’., , About the Poem :→ This poem is composed in the memory of the poet’s mother. It is glowing tribute to his dead mother who, died when he was only six years old., , Compiled By – Nishant Gangwal, , Page 1
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On the Receipt of My Mother’s Picture, , ENGLISH CARE, , → He composed this poem at the age of fifty eight., → He received his mother’s picture as a gift from a cousin ‘Mrs. Ann Bodham’., → It is written in iambic pentameter., → The whole poem is written in heroic couplets., → The poet felt a sense of personal loss and extremely overtaken by nostalgia when he got the picture of his, dead mother from his cousin., → He was so much excited to see the picture that he decided to immortalize her in his verse., → Beginning with a realization of his loss and the difficult period, he has had since her death, he first, rememorizes the day of his mother’s death and then the period of grief which followed it. He also, recollects the home of his childhood and his childhood memories., → S.T. Coleridge’s poem ‘Frost at Midnight’ is also the poem of this kind., , Important Points in the Poem :→ Poet’s grief and compassion, → The day when poet’s mother died, → Sufferings of poet’s childhood, → Painful memories of poet’s childhood, → Caring and loving nature of poet’s mother, → The lost happiness, → Unbound spirit of poet’s mother in heaven, → Adverse condition of poet, → Sweet thought of his (poet’s) parents, → Childhood, lived again, → The image and permanent smile of poet’s mother, , Other Important Points in the Poem : The Poet addresses the picture of his mother as ‘guest’., → ‘Oh welcome guest’ !, Elysian – Derived from Elysium (the blessed abode of the good after death, divinely blissful)., Robin – The gardener of poet’s mother., The poet addresses his mother by calling her ‘a gallant bark’ in the poem., Albion – Albion is an ancient name for England., The poet has used the phrase ‘loved consort’ for his father in the poem., , Important Lines to Remember in the Poem :► “Oh that those lips had language ! Life has passed, With me but roughly since I heard thee last., Those lips are thine – thy own sweet smiles I see,, The same that oft in childhood solaced me ;, Voice only fails, else, how distinct they say,, Compiled By – Nishant Gangwal, , Page 2
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On the Receipt of My Mother’s Picture, , ENGLISH CARE, , ‘Grieve not, my child, chase all thy fears away !’, ► “Faithful remembrances of one so dear,, Oh welcome guest, though unexpected, here !, ► “My mother ! when I learned that thou wast dead,, Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed ?”, ► “By contemplation’s help, not sought in vain,, I seem t’ have lived my childhood o’er again.”, ► “And, while the wings of fancy still are free,, And I can view this mimic show of thee,, Time has but half succeeded in his theft –, Thyself removed, thy power to soothe me left.”, , ****************************, , Compiled By – Nishant Gangwal, , Page 3
