Life of Cowley - Part B

  • What is The Davideis? /Why can’t Cowley’s Davideis be judged as an epic?

The Davideis is a poem written by Abraham Cowley, an English poet of the 17th century. It is an unfinished epic poem that focuses on the biblical figure of King David, recounting/describing his life and exploits. 

The Davideis is an unfinished epic poem. Cowley could not complete the poem. He only completed the third part of the 'Davideis'. Cowley was greatly inspired by Homer, Virgil and Tasso to write an epic. Moreover, he was highly influenced by the 'Aeneid' of Virgil which contains twelve parts. So, Cowley composed the Davideis following Virgil's the 'Aeneid' to give it an epic form containing twelve parts. But he was not able to maintain all the characteristics of an epic at the time of writing the 'Davideis'. He could finish only the third part. The 'Davideis' could not become a book and the poem had hardly been mentioned. The work was generally praised but did not draw much regard. Cowley left the poem incomplete like other poets e.g. Spenser, Virgil and Statius.