William Cowper

Cowper, William (1731–1800), 18th-century English poet. He wrote about nature and rural life in the English countryside. A strict Calvinist, he wrote the Olney Hymns (1779), which contained “Oh! for a Closer Walk with God” and “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Other works of Cowper's include “The Diverting History of John Gilpin” (1782), The Task (1785), and “Yardley Oak” (1791).