"The Task"

"The Task"
I would not have a slave to till my ground,
To carry me, to fan me while I sleep,
And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth
That sinews bought and sold have earned.
No: dear as freedom is, and in my heart's
Just estimation prized above all price,
I had much rather be myself the slave
And wear the bonds than fasten them on him.
We have no slaves at home: then why abroad?
And they themselves, once ferried o'er the wave
That parts us, are emancipate and loosed.
Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free:
They touch our country and their shackles fall.
That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud
And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then,
And let it circulate through every vein
Of all your empire; that where Britain's power
Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too.
-William Cowper (94)

William Cowper (95)

Cowper's poetry is very telling not only about his sentiments, but the changing political climate in England. He was very well respected for his religious poems, but "The Task," a book, was quite possibly the most influential in humanitarian reforms (96).
In saying that he would rather be a slave than an owner, Cowper drives his point that owning slaves is immoral in a very unique way. His ability to connect to the reader through simple language make his poetry accessible to any person, unlike Sancho and Cugoano. Cowper seems to have written for the common man, suggesting that he was aware of the increasing influence of the middle class on England's social policies.

Elizabeth's poem looks at slavery from both two perspectives: