Cowper's Pity.

“Pity for Poor Africans” is Cowper's commentary on the regrettable affair of the slave trade and his country's hand in it and his criticism of it. The poem establishes that he is aware of the inhumanity of the slave trade but, so too is he too well accustomed to the profit of it to deign to stop it,

"For how could we do without sugar and rum?

Especially sugar, so needful we see?

What? give up our desserts, our coffee, and tea!"

He regrets that their delicacies are the spoils of despair but he is too comfortable to change it. He voices his opinion loudly against it, but not loudly enough to actually matter. He speaks his discontent but only so much as to alleviate his guilt, and beyond pity to further relieve that guilt, he attempts to justify why they continue to participate in the slave trade. He has already declared that they cannot do without the goods, but he offers the justification that even if they stood against it, they would stand alone and the trade would continue. The "French, Dutch, and Danes" will continue their quests and captures and trades so if the British were to stand aside, it would have no influence and instead of saving the world, they would just end up with nothing.

The story that Cowper tells in his poem of the man who goes along to steal the apples though he knows it is wrong is the allegory of the poem. The French, Dutch, and Danes are the youngster's mates and the youngster is the British. The boy is almost sympathetic because he can tell right from wrong but ultimately he is the worst of the lot for not being able to stand by what he knows he should do.