Samuel Taylor Coleridge

1772-1834
Brief Biography
•1772 born the son of a Devonshire
clergyman.
•1791-94 went to Cambridge
•intelligent and dreamy child
•Thoroughly bored
•Studies suffered
•Left without attaining a degree
•Met Robert Southey (future Poet
Laureate) at Oxford
•Became fast friends
•Started hatching schemes:
•Starting a commune in
Pennsylvania on the Susquehanna
•Married a pair of sisters
•1796, given money by the
Wedgwood brothers
•could concentrate on his literary
career.
•1797 Met Wordsworth
•produced his best work.
 Biography - Continued
• Went off to Germany:
• accompanied by William's sister, Dorothy,
• Gottingen:
• Coleridge studied philosophy
• Mastered the German language
• William and Dorothy
• lacked Coleridge's knowledge of German
• miserable during their stay.
• Lake District
• northern England
• Wordsworth's were ecstatic to return to their home region,
• Coleridge found himself adversely affected by the damp climate.
• He turned to opium (laudanum, to be precise) to alleviate his ills
• became addicted.
• Wandering phase
• Brought on by:
• Bad health
• growing addiction to opium
• search of relief.
• 1813 finally turns to a doctor
• attempt to control his worsening addiction.
• 1834 dies
 Literary Traits
•Extremely versatile
•poet, essayist, and critic
•Best known for long, narrative
poems
•Wrote most of his major work
within a few years
•A “spasm of intense effort”
•Then dropped that style of
poetry
•Strange often “dreamy”
imagery
•One of the few Romantics to
retain any traditional religion
 Impact
• Through Wordsworth, he ushered in the
modern use of “conversational” poetry
Some modern scholars have accused him
of plagiarism
• Though often seen as a “broken
Archangel, J.S. Mill proclaimed him as one
of “the two great seminal minds of
England”
• One of the most influential literary
theorists
• Unlike Wordsworth, he stuck by most of
the theories and beliefs that he held in his
youth.
Did You Know?
•"Maiden" does
"Mariner"
•On their album "Power
Slave", the 80's hair-band
Iron Maiden did a
rendition of Coleridge's
Rime of the Ancient
Mariner.
 Lyrical Ballads
• Published in 1798 with William
Wordsworth
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
opens the Lyrical Ballads

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Ancient Mariner
• “long gray beard and glittering eye”
• It is the eye that holds the attention of
the Wedding Guest
• Suggests the supernatural

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Ancient Mariner
• Major Change
• Initially view nature from a negative
perspective
• “slimy”
• Needlessly kills the albatross
• Once he begins to appreciate nature,
the curse is broken and he is able to
pray.

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Ancient Mariner
• Penance
• Must retell his story
• Initiated by some sort of burning
from within
• Only retelling the story alleviates the
pain

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Ancient Mariner
• Penance
• Travels from land to land
• Has strange powers of speech
• Has the ability to speak multiple
languages
• Suggests divine intervention
• Recognizes who must hear his story
• Suggests divine intervention

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Wedding Guest
• Cannot escape the eye of the
Mariner
• Fearful of the Mariner
• Believes that he is a ghost
• Why is the Wedding Guest chosen
by the Mariner?
• Possesses a similar flaw
• Lack of harmony with nature

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Hermit
• Religious man/priest
• “Kneels” three times a day
• In tune with nature
• His cushion is a moss covered stump
• Therefore, he is painted in a
positive light by Coleridge

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Symbols
• Albatross
• Symbol of nature
• Dies at the hands of the Mariner
• Loves the Mariner
• Demonstrates nature’s desire to
harmonize with humanity

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Themes
• Religion
• Divine Intervention
• No waves or wind in the ocean
• Allows the boat to travel at
incredible speeds
• With the condition of the boat, it
should not realistically be able to
sail
• The burning inside the Mariner

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Themes
• Religion
• Forgiveness and Penance
• Needs the Hermit to forgive him
• In order to be forgiven, the Mariner
must perform his penance

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Themes
• Creating a Harmony Between
Humanity and Nature
• Major theme of the Romantic Age
• Once the Mariner embraces nature,
the curse begins to evaporate

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's

 Themes
• Creating a Harmony Between
Humanity and Nature
• The Mariner’s mission is to warn
people who display the characteristic
that at one time dominated his life
• Find people who are not in sync
with nature
• Tell them his story
• Change their ways
• Harmonize humanity with nature

Geschke/British Literature Coleridge's