Le Quin’s advice to a young writer: respect, do not abuse, language.
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Tag Archives: William Cowper
Misuse of Language Induces Evil in the Soul
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Ode on a Grecian Urn", "Task", John Keats, Ursula K Le Guin Comments closed
Seeing the World as Your Plaything
A passage from William Cowper’s “The Task”—about self-indulgent princes—captures America’s current president.
Truth in ’24, a Pearl of Great Price
Biden called for truth telling in a recent speech, reminding me of Cowper’s “The Task.”
“What Is Truth?” He Asked of Truth Itself
Cowper’s exploration of Truth takes Pilate’s question as its jumping off point.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Task", Christ, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Pilate, Truth Comments closed
Lit as Truth in a Self-Deceiving World
When many are suffering from cognitive dissonance, the truth of literature more important than ever.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Task", Brian Castleberry, cognitive dissonance, Salman Rushdie, Trumpism Comments closed
Eternally Damned after Reading a Book
In which I compare Austen’s Marianne and Willoughby to Dante’s Paulo and Francesca.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Castaway", "Task", Alexander Pope, Dante, Desire, Essay on Man, Inferno, James Thomson, Jane Austen, Relationships, Seasons, Sense and Sensibility, Sir Walter Scott Comments closed
The Only Lasting Treasure, Truth
William Cowper’s meditations on Truth in “The Task” dramatize Jesus’s words on the subject.
Please God, Prepare a Fruitful Place
William Cowper has a lovely poem about the parable of the sower and the seed. Cowper wrestled with crippling depression and was afraid that his heart was too stony to receive God’s grace.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Sower", Grace, parable of the sower and the seed, stony heart Comments closed