Essay Questions

Within the poem "The Castaway," Cowper describes the fate of a sailor swept of a ship into the cold ocean. How is the sailor's fate described and how does it fit within the greater scheme, as mentioned towards the end of the poem?

The character of the castaway is described in a less fatalistic light than one would expect. His fate, from falling of the boat, to aimlessly crying for help to finally drowning has a strange calm feeling to it in the poem. The castaway might not except his fate right away but he knows that what happened cannot be changed and that the other sailors cannot save him without endangering themselves. He tries to swim as long as he can before he finally drowns. The poet uses this story to arch to the overall topic of death, specifically the death of common people. The last three stanzas of the poem describe the situation of the sailor within poetry, saying that no poet will mourn him. This is to be understood as a reference that no poem will be written about him, ironic in the sense that this is told within a poem. The final conclusion of the poem is that death is something people have to face alone and nothing can help them in the end, just like the sailor on the open ocean.

The poem "The Negro's Complaint" is written from the view of a black slave working a plantation. What can be said from the evidence of the poem about the attitude of the author towards slavery? Consider that during Cowper's time slavery was very present in the Americas and partly in Europe.

The poem contains two main points that hint towards a negative view of Cowper towards slavery. The first can be found in the repeated plea that skin color is not important in judging a man. The second can be found in the rhetorical questions asked about God's plan, finally answered by the poem's narrator himself with a resounding NO. The poem's main topic is abolition as the only morally acceptable way to go forth in the world. The description of black slaves suffering, juxtaposed with the hubris of the white slave owner in prescribing God's will, paints a strong picture of a wrong that needs to be made right. Another evidence can be found in the simple truth that the poem is written from the perspective of a slave. This alone puts the black slave on the same level as the author, giving him power over his own narrative.

The poem "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" gives a mission to mankind of how to treat God. How should mankind treat God? What can be read from the poem about the attitude of Cowper towards theological criticism?

The poem clearly states that the only way to be a good human is to believe in God without question. Man is not made to question the decisions of this higher being and should not try to do so. The poem paints a picture with many metaphors of bad things that will turn out good. A bitter bud will turn into a tasty flower and others exemplify the deeper meaning of God. God's decisions might seem wrong or bad from the human perspective but are always right in the greater scheme. On the question of theological criticism, the poem clearly states that any critique would be wrong. With the line "Blind unbelief is sure to err", the common phrase of blind belief is turned around to mock any critic.