Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772-1834

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was first generation Romantic poet. He was a member of what we call the “Wordsworth circle” that included himself and William and Dorothy Wordsworth. Coleridge attended Jesus College in Cambridge but did not earn a degree due to a failed attempt to enlist in the army under an assumed name. Coleridge was addicted to opium but it didn’t greatly affect his writing like some might think. In 1796 he published Poems on Various Subjects. This publication included his poem entitled
The Eolian Harp. In 1800 he followed the Wordsworths to the Lake District, where they collaborated on several works.

I have to be honest and admit that I was not a huge fan of Coleridge’s work after reading it in the text. I found it difficult to follow. I must preferred the simplicity of subject matter that Wordsworth used instead of the more imaginative subjects that Coleridge used to write on; however, if I did have to choose a favorite Coleridge poem that I read it would be The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, despite the fact that it is so long. This poem is one of his most famous and did a lot to establish Coleridge as a successful poet. I think Coleridge uses the ballet of sorts to teach a moral lesson, one that urges man to be kind to all of God’s creatures or to pay a heavy price like the mariner did. I enjoy how Coleridge left the wedding guest somewhat confused as to what to think about the ending of the story. I think he is painting the wedding guest as the reader. I believe that Coleridge wants the reader to draw his own conclusions from the poem, forcing the reader to think for themselves. My own personal interpretation is that Coleridge wants us to be kinder to each other because he is writing in an age when the sense of community is becoming more and more individualistic.