" Many of his hymns are still
favorites. He died in 1748.
ALEXANDER POPE was born in London, May 21, 1688. Sickly and
deformed, he was unable to attend school, but he was nevertheless
a great student. His writings are witty and satirical. His best-known
poems are "Essay on Man," "Translation of the Iliad," "Essay on
Criticism," and "The Rape of the Lock." He died in 1744.
THOMAS GRAY was born in London in 1716. He was educated at
Eton, and Peter-House College, Cambridge. He lived all his life at
Cambridge, ultimately being appointed professor of Modern History.
His most famous poem is the "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."
He died in 1771.
WILLIAM COWPER was born at Great Berkhamstead, England,
November 26, 1731. He was educated at Westminster School, and studied
law at the Middle Temple, being called to the bar in 1754. He was
very delicate and afflicted with nervousness that amounted to
insanity at times. Not until 1780 did he seriously begin his literary
career. Then for a period of a little more than ten years he worked
with success and was happy. His most famous poems are "John Gilpin,"
"The Task," "Hope," and "Lines on my Mother's Portrait." In the
latter part of his life his nervous melancholy again affected him.
He died in 1800.
ROBERT BURNS was born at Ayr in Scotland, January 25, 1759.
He was the son of a poor farmer, and he himself followed the plow
in his earlier days.
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