By Silvia Thiele, student at University of Wisconsin - Rock County
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 in Ottery St. Mary Devonshire. His parents were Reverend John Coleridge and Ann Bowden Coleridge. After his father died of a heart attack in 1781, he was sent to Christ Hospital School. Coleridge loved to read and that’s what he did while away at school. He finished Christ Hospital School and entered Cambridge in 1791. Although he studied there until 1794, he enlisted in the dragoons (army) under the name Silas Tomkyn Comberbache. Coleridge returned to school after his short stint in the army, and in 1794 won an award for a piece of poetry called “Slave Trade.” He met both Robert Southey and William Wordsworth in 1795, as well as his future wife Sara Fricker. He was not in love with her, and although they would have children together, would separate later in Coleridge’s life. In 1798, he was offered an annuity £150 to focus on writing.
Coleridge was interested in the human mind, and exploring it. He collaborated with Wordsworth because of this similar interest in human nature and they published Lyrical Ballads in 1797. Around this time Coleridge started his drug use, as he is famous for his drug abuse as well as his writing. It is not known exactly how or why Coleridge started using opium, but many speculate it may have been related to toothaches, and rheumatoid illnesses he suffered with as a child. In either case, he became dependent on opium and many believe it affected his work. It is believed some of his major works such as “Kubla Khan”, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, and “Christabel” were products of opium induced hazes. No one knows exactly how much of Coleridge’s writing was written while he was under the influence, but as he grew older, he became sick and the addiction affected his work, as he did not complete a lot of it. He retired to Highgate, with Dr. James Gillman the last part of his life. There he published Biographia literaria(1817), Lay Sermons (1817), Aids to Reflection (1825), and The Constitution of Church and State (1829). Coleridge died July 25th, 1834 in Highgate at age 61 of heart failure.
Among the themes in his poetry was religion and the and crime and punishment. Although he was also interested in the the individual, these two themes were also prevalent in his poetry. Coleridge linked God and nature together, and thought that ones’ spirituality came for within, what one could imagine:
“God save thee, ancient Mariner! From fiends, that plague thee thus!- Why look’st thou so” –With my cross-bow I shot the Albatross.”
-The albatross was a good omen from god, and from there on in the poem, chaos ensues mostly by nature, and the Mariner suffers:
“Nor dim nor red, like God's own head, The glorious sun uprist: Then all averred, I had killed the bird That brought the fog and mist. 'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay, That bring the fog and mist.”
Along with this theme of religion, goes crime and punishment. Not only is the Mariner punished for killing the albatross, but also the whole crew falls dead. But, the Mariner is the one who suffers.
“Alone, alone, all, all alone, <------- repetition, another literary technique Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie; And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I.”
One other important theme is Good versus Evil, which can also be tied in religion. The following is an example:
“For nothing near it could I see, Save the grass and herbs underneath the old tree. And in my dream methought I went To search out what might there be found; And what the sweet bird's trouble meant, That thus lay fluttering on the ground. I went and peered, and could descry No cause for her distressful cry; But yet for her dear lady's sake I stooped, methought, the dove to take, When lo! I saw a bright green snake Coiled around its wings and neck. Green as the herbs on which it couched, Close by the dove's its head it crouched; And with the dove it heaves and stirs, Swelling its neck as she swelled hers! I woke; it was the midnight hour, The clock was echoing in the tower; But though my slumber was gone by, This dream it would not pass away- It seems to live upon my eye!” -The bard dreams of a dove and a snake, symbolizing Christabel and Geraldine. The setting is in nature and the snake attacks the dove that is represented as the innocent, or the good, and the snake as the deceitful, or the bad.
One literary technique Coleridge used was the use of personification, or giving inanimate objects or ideas human characteristics:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “The Sun now rose upon the right: Out of the sea came he, Still hid in mist, and on the left Went down into the sea.”
Kubla Khan: “And ‘mid these dancing rocks at once and ever It flung up momentarily the scared river.”
Frost at Midnight: “Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, Whether the summer clothe the general earth…” Sources: Coleridge, Henry. "The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge". Forgotten Books. 2010. print. This is a print version of Samuel taylor Coleridge's works that were discrovered and published after his death, as per his request. This includes manuscripts, poems, letters, and anything unfinished. This is another volume published in april 2010.Worthen, John. "The Cambridge Introduction to Samuel Taylor Coleridge".Cambridge Unviversity Press; 1st Edition. 18 October 2010. print.A 164 page print about the life and work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. An overall biography with insight to his literary technique and style. It is easy to read and as it says in the title, offers an introduction to his literature. Important for those in search of a biography of the author in print.White, Harry. "Coleridge's Uncertain Agony." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 49.4 (2009): 807-39. Humanities Full Text. Web. 8 May 2011. This article explores Coleridge's mental state through his literary career, and how his chronic depression played into most of his writing. The author talks about the feelings of guilt and disturbing thoughts and depression Coleridge suffered from throughout his lifetime, and how it directly influenced his works. This article does a really good job of breaking down Coleridge's works and some of the themes in one his his most famous, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", and "Kubla Khan. One who is researching Coleridge would find this article a helpful guide to understanding some of the themes of guilt, crime, punishment and religion in Coleridge's works. While it is not a biography of Coleridge, it offers analysis of Coleridge as a clinically and famously depressed writer and drug abuser and makes it easier for a confused reader of Coleridge to understand some of his literary works.
Chandler, Alice. Structure and Symbol in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Modern Language Quarterly; Sep65, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p401, 13p. Web. 8 May 2011. This is a literary criticism on "Rime of the Ancient Mariner. This article focuses on the literary techniques such as repetition and symbolism in Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Chandler breaks down the patterns in this work, and offers a thorough analysis of these things in this article. Although this is an old article, it is one that I came across that is possibly one the most important to those researching Coleridge. This article provides a strictly educational analysis of the elements that helped construct one of his most famous poems.
Taylor, Anya. "Coleridge and the pleasures of verse." Studies in Romanticism 40.4 (2001): 547-69. Humanities Full Text. Web. 8 May 2011. This essay also discusses Coleridge's writing skills, and how important these skills were to him. It offers a look at the experimentation and growth in Coleridge's literature. This article does not focus on one piece, but rather compares and contrasts many of Coleridge's works and style of writing. The article offers discussion on different techniques not talked about in the previous article, such a Coleridge's meter, and versifcation, and how it was simliar and/or dissimiliar to other Romantic poets of the time. This would be a scholarly essay useful to peers researching Coleridge because it also offers educational analysis of his literature and the Romantic era. Websites:1.) Heuss, Michael R. "About Samuel Taylor Coleridge." Great Literature Online. 1997-2011. http://www.classicauthors.net/coleridge. 8 May 2011.-Offers short biography, but most importantly provides access to all of Coleridge's works.2.) Samuel Taylor Coleridge- Poets.org http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/292 13 May 2011.-Offers guides to major works, and briefly covers romanticism in Coleridge's poetry and prose Major Works:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798
Christabel, 1797-1800 (part 2)
Lyrical Ballads, Coleridge and Wordsworth 1798
Kubla Khan, 1797, published 1816
Biographia Literaria, 1817
The Eolian Harp, wirtten 1795, published 1796
This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison, 1797
Frost at Midnight, 1798
Fears in Solitude, 1798
The Nightgale: A Conversation Poem, 1798
Dejection: An Ode, 1802
To William Wordsworth, 1807
Epitaph, 1833
"Stop, Christian passer-by : Stop, child of God,
And read, with gentle breast. Beneath this sod
A poet lies, or that which once seem'd he--
O, lift one thought in prayer for S. T. C.--
That he who many a year with toil of breath
Found death in life, may here find life in death:
Mercy for praise--to be forgiven for fame--
He ask'd, and hoped through Christ. Do thou the same."
Nov. 9, 1833.
Family/Home:Wife- Sara Fricker (1770-1845), married Coleridge October 4th, 1795, asked for seperation in 1806Daughter- Sara Coleridge (1802-1852), works included "The Child", "The Months", "O sleep, my babe", and "Phantasmion"Sons- Hartley Coleridge (1796-1849), works included "To a Cat", "Song", "November", "Friendship", and "Early Death" Derwent Coleridge (1800-1883), completed some of his father's works, ordained priest, and educatorBerkeley Coleridge (1798-1799), died from reaction to small-pox vaccine-Coleridge was the youngest of ten children.His parents were:Reverend John Coleridge (1719-1781)
Anne Bowden Coleridge (1726-1809)Brothers-John Coleridge (1754-1787)
William Coleridge (1755-1756)
William Coleridge (1758-1780)
James Coleridge (1759-1836)
Edward Coleridge (1760-1843)
George Coleridge (1764-1828)
Luke Coleridge (1765-1790)
Francis Coleridge (1770-1792)Sister-Anne "Nancy" Coleridge (1767-1791)Close Friends-Robert Southey (1774-1843), met in 1794 at OxfordWilliam Wordsworth (1770-1850), met in 1795 in Bristol, collaborated on Lyrical Ballads 1797Chronology:1772 - Born in October 211781- His father dies1781 - Following his father's death, he was sent to Christ Hosptial School1791-94- Enrolled at Cambridge(1793) - Enlisted in the army briefly1794- Won Browne Gold Medal for "Slave Trade"1795- Married Sara Fricker1796- Birth of son HartleyAround 1796- Started using opium for numerous afflictions1797- Wrote "Kubla Khan" and "Christabel"1798- Given an annuity to focus on writing1798- His son, Berkeley Coleridge dies1798- "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"1799- Met Sara Hutchinson, tours Lake district1800- Son Derwent Born1801- Health problems due to opium addiction1802- Daughter Sara born1806- Separates from wife1816- Retires to the home of James Gillman, continues writing1833- Writes his own epitaph, fearing his death1834- Dies of heart failure at age 61, due to complications of his opium addictionStudy Questions, Rime of the Ancient Mariner: 1. How does is romanticism displayed in Rime of the Ancient Mariner? 2. Describe the connection between God and Nature throughout the poem. 3. How does the Mariner change throughout his ordeal in the poem? 4. How do you think personification affected the mood of the poem?. 5. Are there Gothic elements to this poem?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(1772-1834)The Romantic EraSamuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 in Ottery St. Mary Devonshire. His parents were Reverend John Coleridge and Ann Bowden Coleridge. After his father died of a heart attack in 1781, he was sent to Christ Hospital School. Coleridge loved to read and that’s what he did while away at school. He finished Christ Hospital School and entered Cambridge in 1791. Although he studied there until 1794, he enlisted in the dragoons (army) under the name Silas Tomkyn Comberbache. Coleridge returned to school after his short stint in the army, and in 1794 won an award for a piece of poetry called “Slave Trade.” He met both Robert Southey and William Wordsworth in 1795, as well as his future wife Sara Fricker. He was not in love with her, and although they would have children together, would separate later in Coleridge’s life. In 1798, he was offered an annuity £150 to focus on writing.
Coleridge was interested in the human mind, and exploring it. He collaborated with Wordsworth because of this similar interest in human nature and they published Lyrical Ballads in 1797. Around this time Coleridge started his drug use, as he is famous for his drug abuse as well as his writing. It is not known exactly how or why Coleridge started using opium, but many speculate it may have been related to toothaches, and rheumatoid illnesses he suffered with as a child. In either case, he became dependent on opium and many believe it affected his work. It is believed some of his major works such as “Kubla Khan”, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, and “Christabel” were products of opium induced hazes. No one knows exactly how much of Coleridge’s writing was written while he was under the influence, but as he grew older, he became sick and the addiction affected his work, as he did not complete a lot of it. He retired to Highgate, with Dr. James Gillman the last part of his life. There he published Biographia literaria (1817), Lay Sermons (1817), Aids to Reflection (1825), and The Constitution of Church and State (1829).
Coleridge died July 25th, 1834 in Highgate at age 61 of heart failure.
Among the themes in his poetry was religion and the and crime and punishment. Although he was also interested in the the individual, these two themes were also prevalent in his poetry. Coleridge linked God and nature together, and thought that ones’ spirituality came for within, what one could imagine:
“God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From fiends, that plague thee thus!-
Why look’st thou so” –With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross.”
-The albatross was a good omen from god, and from there on in the poem, chaos ensues mostly by nature, and the Mariner suffers:
“Nor dim nor red, like God's own head,
The glorious sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist.
'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.”
Along with this theme of religion, goes crime and punishment. Not only is the Mariner punished for killing the albatross, but also the whole crew falls dead. But, the Mariner is the one who suffers.
“Alone, alone, all, all alone, <------- repetition, another literary technique
Alone on a wide wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on
My soul in agony.
The many men, so beautiful!
And they all dead did lie;
And a thousand thousand slimy things
Lived on; and so did I.”
One other important theme is Good versus Evil, which can also be tied in religion. The following is an example:
“For nothing near it could I see,
Save the grass and herbs underneath the old tree.
And in my dream methought I went
To search out what might there be found;
And what the sweet bird's trouble meant,
That thus lay fluttering on the ground.
I went and peered, and could descry
No cause for her distressful cry;
But yet for her dear lady's sake
I stooped, methought, the dove to take,
When lo! I saw a bright green snake
Coiled around its wings and neck.
Green as the herbs on which it couched,
Close by the dove's its head it crouched;
And with the dove it heaves and stirs,
Swelling its neck as she swelled hers!
I woke; it was the midnight hour,
The clock was echoing in the tower;
But though my slumber was gone by,
This dream it would not pass away-
It seems to live upon my eye!”
-The bard dreams of a dove and a snake, symbolizing Christabel and Geraldine. The setting is in nature and the snake attacks the dove that is represented as the innocent, or the good, and the snake as the deceitful, or the bad.
One literary technique Coleridge used was the use of personification, or giving inanimate objects or ideas human characteristics:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
“The Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.”
Kubla Khan:
“And ‘mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momentarily the scared river.”
Frost at Midnight:
“Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether the summer clothe the general earth…”
Sources:
Coleridge, Henry. "The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge". Forgotten Books. 2010. print. This is a print version of Samuel taylor Coleridge's works that were discrovered and published after his death, as per his request. This includes manuscripts, poems, letters, and anything unfinished. This is another volume published in april 2010. Worthen, John. "The Cambridge Introduction to Samuel Taylor Coleridge".Cambridge Unviversity Press; 1st Edition. 18 October 2010. print. A 164 page print about the life and work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. An overall biography with insight to his literary technique and style. It is easy to read and as it says in the title, offers an introduction to his literature. Important for those in search of a biography of the author in print. White, Harry. "Coleridge's Uncertain Agony." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 49.4 (2009): 807-39. Humanities Full Text. Web. 8 May 2011.
This article explores Coleridge's mental state through his literary career, and how his chronic depression played into most of his writing. The author talks about the feelings of guilt and disturbing thoughts and depression Coleridge suffered from throughout his lifetime, and how it directly influenced his works. This article does a really good job of breaking down Coleridge's works and some of the themes in one his his most famous, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", and "Kubla Khan. One who is researching Coleridge would find this article a helpful guide to understanding some of the themes of guilt, crime, punishment and religion in Coleridge's works. While it is not a biography of Coleridge, it offers analysis of Coleridge as a clinically and famously depressed writer and drug abuser and makes it easier for a confused reader of Coleridge to understand some of his literary works.
Chandler, Alice. Structure and Symbol in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Modern Language Quarterly; Sep65, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p401, 13p. Web. 8 May 2011.
This is a literary criticism on "Rime of the Ancient Mariner. This article focuses on the literary techniques such as repetition and symbolism in Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Chandler breaks down the patterns in this work, and offers a thorough analysis of these things in this article. Although this is an old article, it is one that I came across that is possibly one the most important to those researching Coleridge. This article provides a strictly educational analysis of the elements that helped construct one of his most famous poems.
Taylor, Anya. "Coleridge and the pleasures of verse." Studies in Romanticism 40.4 (2001): 547-69. Humanities Full Text. Web. 8 May 2011.
This essay also discusses Coleridge's writing skills, and how important these skills were to him. It offers a look at the experimentation and growth in Coleridge's literature. This article does not focus on one piece, but rather compares and contrasts many of Coleridge's works and style of writing. The article offers discussion on different techniques not talked about in the previous article, such a Coleridge's meter, and versifcation, and how it was simliar and/or dissimiliar to other Romantic poets of the time. This would be a scholarly essay useful to peers researching Coleridge because it also offers educational analysis of his literature and the Romantic era.
Websites:1.) Heuss, Michael R. "About Samuel Taylor Coleridge." Great Literature Online. 1997-2011. http://www.classicauthors.net/coleridge. 8 May 2011.-Offers short biography, but most importantly provides access to all of Coleridge's works.2.) Samuel Taylor Coleridge- Poets.org http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/292 13 May 2011.-Offers guides to major works, and briefly covers romanticism in Coleridge's poetry and prose
Major Works:
Coleridge and Wordsworth 1798
- The Eolian Harp, wirtten 1795, published 1796
- This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison, 1797
- Frost at Midnight, 1798
- Fears in Solitude, 1798
- The Nightgale: A Conversation Poem, 1798
- Dejection: An Ode, 1802
- To William Wordsworth, 1807
- Epitaph, 1833
"Stop, Christian passer-by : Stop, child of God,And read, with gentle breast. Beneath this sod
A poet lies, or that which once seem'd he--
O, lift one thought in prayer for S. T. C.--
That he who many a year with toil of breath
Found death in life, may here find life in death:
Mercy for praise--to be forgiven for fame--
He ask'd, and hoped through Christ. Do thou the same."
Nov. 9, 1833.
Anne Bowden Coleridge (1726-1809)Brothers-John Coleridge (1754-1787)
William Coleridge (1755-1756)
William Coleridge (1758-1780)
James Coleridge (1759-1836)
Edward Coleridge (1760-1843)
George Coleridge (1764-1828)
Luke Coleridge (1765-1790)
Francis Coleridge (1770-1792)Sister-Anne "Nancy" Coleridge (1767-1791)Close Friends-Robert Southey (1774-1843), met in 1794 at Oxford
1. How does is romanticism displayed in Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
2. Describe the connection between God and Nature throughout the poem.
3. How does the Mariner change throughout his ordeal in the poem?
4. How do you think personification affected the mood of the poem?.
5. Are there Gothic elements to this poem?