McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXXIV · Part 9: Comedy, Milton, Whittier and Shakespeare's taverns

90. My Mother's Picture (William Cowper)

Goal: Your student can explain what Cowper feels on receiving his mother's picture and why.

⏱ About 40 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

Part of Cowper's poem written when a cousin sent him a picture of his mother, who died when he was a child. The heading is in the middle of the page, after the notes to The Poor Gentleman.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Look over the notes and definitions printed at the end of the lesson before you start, so names and hard words don't trip up the reading.

    Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.

  2. About the author

    The book says Cowper (1731–1800), the son of an English clergyman, was gentle and timid. He studied law but never practiced. At about thirty he was given a clerkship in the House of Lords, but he became insane and was placed in an asylum. He lived for years with the Unwin family, mostly at Olney. His works include hymns, The Task, and translations of Homer. He lost his mother when he was six.

  3. Read aloud

    Read slowly and gently. This is a grown man speaking to the picture of his mother. Your student reads the second half.

    Listen for these lines:

    And now, farewell! Time, unrevoked, has run

  4. Talk about it

    SayCowper was six when his mother died. What does he remember about her?

    SayWhat does he imagine the picture would say if it could speak?

    SayDoes the picture comfort him, or make him sadder? Find lines for both.

    SayWhy do people keep pictures of those they have lost?

  5. Narration

    Your student describes, in their own words, three memories Cowper has of his mother.

  6. Writing (optional)

    Write a few lines to a photograph of someone you love, telling them something you remember.

Tip

The note mentions Cowper's insanity. If it comes up, a simple answer is that he suffered from deep sadness and illness of mind for much of his life.

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