Self-portrayal by a depressed poet: a contribution to the clinical biography of William Cowper.

Abstract

The life of the eighteenth-century English poet William Cowper, who suffered from recurrent major depression, or bipolar II disorder, is described. Since no effective treatment was available, Cowper's writings give an example of the natural history of major depression. They also illustrate the fate of a mental patient of the upper classes at that time. The authors discuss the relevance of Cowper's mother's death during his childhood to his depressive illness and draw attention to the poet's sensitive description of his own psychopathology and the lifelong course of his illness.