(1772-1834) British writer. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a poet, critic and philosopher, perhaps most famous for "Lyrical Ballads" (1798), a collection of poems, co-authored with William Wordsworth. His first volume of verse was published in 1796, but "Lyrical Ballads" revolutionized the era, ushering in a a whole new generation of writers in the Romantic Period.
Wordsworth and Coleridge had become friends after being introduced to one another by Southey. They worked well together: writing and discussing their poetry and theories of literature.
Wordsworth and Coleridge had become friends after being introduced to one another by Southey. They worked well together: writing and discussing their poetry and theories of literature.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Birth:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born on October 21, 1772. He was the youngest of ten children. His father was John Coleridge; and his mother was Ann Bowden Coleridge. Like his father, he was a bookworm, and he particularly enjoyed "The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night."
Coleridge's father died in 1781.
Coleridge's father died in 1781.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Death:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge left behind only his books and manuscripts when he died on July 25, 1834. His epitach reads:
"Beneath this sod
A Poet lies; or that which once was 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."
"Beneath this sod
A Poet lies; or that which once was 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."
Education:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was sent to a Christ's Hospital in London, a charity school. He then entered Jesus College, at Cambridge from 1791 until 1794.
In 1793, Coleridge quit college for a time. He joined the army, but he didn't go to fight in France because he could barely ride a horse. His brother finally got him out of the army by pleading insanity.
In 1793, Coleridge quit college for a time. He joined the army, but he didn't go to fight in France because he could barely ride a horse. His brother finally got him out of the army by pleading insanity.
Marriage:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge married Sara Fricker in 1795. Sara was the sister of Robert Southey's fiance (later wife). His son, David Harley, was born in September of 1796 and his second son, Berkeley, was born in May of 1798.
Coleridge struggled with opium addition, and he failed to become financially stable. Coleridge managed to obtain a legal separation from his wife in 1806.
Coleridge struggled with opium addition, and he failed to become financially stable. Coleridge managed to obtain a legal separation from his wife in 1806.
Line from "Christabel":
"Is the night chilly and dark?
The night is chilly, but not dark.
The thin gray cloud is spread on high,
It covers but not hides the sky.
The moon is behind, and at the full;
And yet she looks both small and dull.
The night is chill, the cloud is gray:
'T is a month before the month of May,
And the Spring comes slowly up this way."
"There she sees a damsel bright,
Dressed in a silken robe of white,
That shadowy in the moonlight shone..."
The night is chilly, but not dark.
The thin gray cloud is spread on high,
It covers but not hides the sky.
The moon is behind, and at the full;
And yet she looks both small and dull.
The night is chill, the cloud is gray:
'T is a month before the month of May,
And the Spring comes slowly up this way."
"There she sees a damsel bright,
Dressed in a silken robe of white,
That shadowy in the moonlight shone..."
Lines from "Kubla Khan":
"Ancestral voices prophesying war."
"Five miles meandering with mazy motion,
Through dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank the tumult to a lifeless ocean:
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!"
"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."
"Five miles meandering with mazy motion,
Through dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank the tumult to a lifeless ocean:
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!"
"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."
Lines from "Frost at Midnight":
"Silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet moon."
"Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sunthaw; whether the eve-drops fall,
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Of if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles..."
Quietly shining to the quiet moon."
"Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sunthaw; whether the eve-drops fall,
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Of if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles..."
Lines from "Fears in Solitude":
"And so, his senses gradually wrapt
In a half sleep, he dreams of better worlds,
And dreaming hears thee still, O singing lark;
That singest like an angel in the clouds."
Forth from his dark and lonely hiding place,
(Portentous sight!) the owlet atheism,
Sailing on obscene wings athwart the noon,
Drops his blue-fring'd lids, and holds them close,
And hooting at the glorious sun in Heaven,
Cries out, "Where is it?"
In a half sleep, he dreams of better worlds,
And dreaming hears thee still, O singing lark;
That singest like an angel in the clouds."
Forth from his dark and lonely hiding place,
(Portentous sight!) the owlet atheism,
Sailing on obscene wings athwart the noon,
Drops his blue-fring'd lids, and holds them close,
And hooting at the glorious sun in Heaven,
Cries out, "Where is it?"
More Info:
In 1809, he began work on a magazine, "The Friend," which was devoted to politics and philosophy. In 1810, Wordworth and Coleridge had a falling out. The friendship had already changed from the early comradry, but this was a more serious break-up. Because of misunderstandings between the two, the rift wasn't fixed for several years.
Coleridge continued to write and publish: "Biographia Literaria" (1817) and "Aids to Reflection" (1825). He was well-known, liked and respected not only because of his poetic and critical writing skills but because of his conversational abilities.
In "Coleridge" (1840), John Stuart Mill writes, "The influence of Coleridge, like that of Bentham, extends far beyond those who share in the peculiarities of his religious or philosophical creed. He has been the great awakener in this country of the spirit of philosophy, within the bounds of traditional opinions. He has been, almost as truly as Bentham, 'the great questioner of things established'; for a questioner needs nor necessarily be an enemy."
Coleridge continued to write and publish: "Biographia Literaria" (1817) and "Aids to Reflection" (1825). He was well-known, liked and respected not only because of his poetic and critical writing skills but because of his conversational abilities.
In "Coleridge" (1840), John Stuart Mill writes, "The influence of Coleridge, like that of Bentham, extends far beyond those who share in the peculiarities of his religious or philosophical creed. He has been the great awakener in this country of the spirit of philosophy, within the bounds of traditional opinions. He has been, almost as truly as Bentham, 'the great questioner of things established'; for a questioner needs nor necessarily be an enemy."
