Coleridge

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, G. Robert Stange, Richard Wilbur

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Genres: Poetry

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, as well as his major prose work Biographia Literaria.

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the better known Romantic poets. The timeline provided with this book (Pages 30-31) notes that he was born in 1772, served in the military in 1793-1794, married in 1795, died in 1834. But these are only dates. It is his body of work that brought him renown and keeps his name alive today. He wrote literary criticism, and wrote on religion and philosophy as well. Thus, his poetry was not his only contribution in terms of publication. But, this is a book featuring his poetry and should be analyzed on those grounds alone.

The book opens with a rather leisurely review of the man and his poetic art, which provides a most useful background for reading the sampling of his poetry. The author of this piece, G. Robert Stange, closes by observing that (Page 29): "Coleridge was not, like Milton, or Pope, or even Tennyson, a lord of language. He lacked their ability to create lines with a cadence or turn that gives them an unmistakable stamp. . .But he was never a minor poet. . . ."

One of his better known (and longer) works is "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." In high school, where my fellow students and I read this, we would joke that Coleridge's "Mariner" must have been a bad infielder, since he could only "stoppeth one of three" (bad high school humor, I know). The poem closes on a lugubrious note:

"The Mariner, whose eye is bright,
Whose beard with age is hoar,
Is gone: and now the We3dding-Guest
Turned from the bridegroom's door.

He went like one that has been stunned,
And is of sense forlorn:
A sadder and wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn."

Then, of course, his famous "Kubla Khan," in which he awoke from a vivid dream to write down the lines as he had dreamed them--only to be interrupted by a knock at the door from a person from Porlock (by the way, my memory is of reading a science fiction short story in my youth with a not-so-innocent explanation as to why the person from Porlock distracted Coleridge, making him forget the rest of the poem).

The outset of this wondrous set of images:

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea."

And, as the years catch up with me, I am now taken by a poem that would have meant little to me when I purchased this book in 1968. From "Youth and Age":

"Ere I was old? Ah woeful Ere,
Which tells me, Youth's no longer here!
O Youth! for years so many and sweet,
'Tis known, that thou and I were one,
I'll think it but a fond conceit--
It cannot be that thou art gone!"

Anyhow, for a good, quick introduction to Coleridge's poetry, this does a fine job.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coleridge poems

“Coleridge”: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, edited by G. Robert Stange & Richard Wilbur

As the editor states in the conclusion of their introduction: “Coleridge .. was not a great poet. But he was never a ‘minor’ poet.” I think that is fair enough. His poems are not always riveting but certainly worthy of reading, especially if you consider yourself a student of poetry. ****

The Eolian Harp
“My pensive Sara! thy soft cheek reclined
Thus on mine arm, most soothing sweet it is
To sit beside our Cot, our Cot o’ergrown
….”

This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison
“Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
This lime-tree bower my prison! I have lost
…
“… Had cross’d the mighty orb’s dilated glory..”
.

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Engaging and provocative tale about a sailor's doomed odyssey. The rhythmic poem contains much symbolism that readers can find analogies that relate to their own life-journey.

Quotable quotes:
'God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!
Why look'st thou so?' - With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross (Part the First)

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink (Part the Second)

And straight the Sun was flecked with bars,
(Heaven's Mother send us grace!)
As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
With broad and burning face (Part the Third)

'Is it he?' quoth one, 'Is this the man?
By him who died on cross,
With is cruel bow he laid full low
The harmless Albatross

'The spirit who bideth by himself
In the land of mist and snow,
He loved the bird that loved the man
Who shot him with his bow.' (Part the Fifth)
- - -

"Christabel" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
I am giving this classic a 5-star rating
1stly because Mary Shelley read it!
2ndly because it needs to be read more than once to get the nuances.
Wonderfully paranormal. Great poetry.

Frost at Midnight
Opens with:
“The Frost performs its secret ministry,
Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry
..”
Inaudible as dreams! The thin blue flame! (line 13)
With his wife at his side (lines 44-49)

France: An Ode
Opens with: “Ye Clouds! That far above me float and pause …”

Fears in Solitude (5/5)
Anti-military poem!
Lines 22-24,44; 103-107; 198-210. Wow!
.. and ..
(Stanza Four)
“Merchant and lawyer, senator and priest,
The rich, the poor, the old man and the young ;
All, all make up one scheme of perjury,
That faith doth reel ; the very name of God..”

The Nightingale
“Come, we will rest on this old mossy bridge!” (line 4)
“Sweet Nightingale! Once more, my friends! Farewell.” (line 110)

The Wanderings of Cain
“Encinctured with a twine of leaves ..” [Encinctured = encircled]
Rambling wandering narrative ***

Kubla Khan: or A Vision in a Dream, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
I know that it is famous, but ...

Dejection: An Ode
Some cool lines.
“VIII
‘Tis midnight, but small thoughts have I of sleep;
Full seldom may my friend such vigils keep!” ****

The Picture of the Lover’s Resolution

The Pains of Sleep
An honest expression of ‘soul-stifling shame’. ****
"Ere on my bed my limbs I lay,
It hath not been my use to pray
With moving lips or bended knees;
But silently, by slow degrees ..."

Phantom
Cool!
“All look and likeness caught from earth
All accident of kin and birth,
Had pass'd away. There was no trace
Of aught on that illumined face,
Uprais'd beneath the rifted stone
But of one spirit all her own;--
She, she herself, and only she,
Shone through her body visibly.”

To William Wordsworth
Coleridge is enamoured by the poetry of his friend.
“Friend of the wise! and Teacher of the Good! ..
.. O great Bard!”

A Tombless Epitaph
Some awesome imagery here.
“The hollow Puppets of a hollow Age ..
“Piercing the long-neglected holy cave,
The haunt obscure of old Philosophy …”

Time, Real and Imaginary
Sister outruns her blind brother.

Youth and Age
Vibrant imagery.
“Dew-drops are the gems of morning,
But the tears of mournful eve! ..”

Work without Hope
“All Nature seems at work. …”

Epitaph
“.. Beneath this sod / A poet lies, …”
…………………………………………………

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

She includes a great deal of Coleridge's letters and critical writing, mixed together with her own commentary, which as always is delightful.