Samuel Taylor Coleridge Research Paper

Imagine a candle-lit dinner on a starry night in Paris, the Eiffel Tower just in view with dazzling lights shining into the night. This image is probably what you think of when you hear the word “romantic,” correct. However, this image is a stumbling block when people think of the “Romanticism Period” in literature. Where “romantic” means having a lovely time with the person you love the most, “Romanticism” is a piece of literature written with key themes in mind. Those themes tend to be a strong emotion, imagery or worship of nature, and individuality and subjectivity. The peak of inspiration for these pieces was in the years 1800-1850, and there are famous poems that are well loved today from this period. Many of the poets that you enjoy reading and know are, in actuality, Romanticism writers, and instill the themes above in our minds.

The first American group of painters, The Hudson School of Romantic Landscapes, was lead by Thomas Cole, who was born in 1801 in England. He went to Philadelphia and Ohio as a traveling portrait painter in 1819. In addition, he traveled to Europe where he painted many Italian subjects, and later many of the scenes in his paintings came from his European studies. He died in 1848 at the age of 47. Cole’s artwork represents the Romantic style of painting, especially in his famous work The Oxbow (Fulwider 618). In the life and time around Thomas Cole, three things stand out. The major themes in Cole’s artwork, what was romantic about the Hudson River School’s art, and why landscape was a national religious symbol for Americans.

The second and final work I am critiquing is from a book entitled, ‘The Life of William Wordsworth: A Critical Biography’ written by John Worthen. I have selected a chapter which pairs nicely with article mentioned above. The chapter features both Wordsworth and Coleridge as well. However, it is not as critical as the article, it is more biographical and informational which is to be expected in a biography. The chapter focuses on the years 1806 to 1807. It begins with the mention of the death of Wordsworth’s brother, John. According to Worthen, this deeply effected Wordsworth and he had little success with the poetry he was writing during this time. Worthen then, points to ‘Elegiac Stanzas’ which confronts his late brother’s death, displays a new sense of reality, and again redeems him as a poet. Worthen states, “The poem makes the narrator 's youthful state of ecstatic, thoughtless love for the natural world — ‘of lasting ease, / Elysian quiet, without toil or strife’ — utterly unreal, in contrast with the realities of life as he now knows them. A ‘fond delusion of my heart’ he calls that old love, ‘to be pitied’ not believed in” (328). The author implies that the death of his brother drastically changed his worldview. The bleak reality of a world without his brother led to Wordsworth becoming more mature and wise after experiencing loss. The author then shifts to discussing ‘Tintern Abbey’ and his reflections during a time of youth. I believe that the author mentions the

Painting landscapes was very important during the 19th century. Thomas Cole was one of the most important figures in landscape painting in the United States. He went to many places searching for nature, which he painted to show the unmatchable beauty nature creates. His works of art helped people see and take pride in their great land, which was called America. Cole’s works were often made people feel like they needed to go out in nature and discover the inspiring world of mother earth.

William Wordsworth’s poem, “Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting The Banks Of The Wye During A Tour. July 13, 1798” (also known as simply, “Tintern Abbey”), was included in the book Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems. This was a joint effort between himself and author Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “Tintern Abbey” remains one of Wadsworth’s most famous poems, and at its printing, the book was completely sold out in two years. The name of the poem reflects the inspiration Wadsworth felt upon visiting the ruins of an old church called Tintern Abbey, with his sister Dorothy.

Lord Byron’s works, such as Don Juan and other poems reflect not only the suave and charming characteristics of the Romantic Period, but they also reveal the nature of Byron’s uncommitted and scandalous life. Byron, like most Romantic era authors, was very unpredictable and opinionated in all of his writings. From the hatred of his upbringing, to the love of adventure, and also to the love of meaningless relationships with various women were majorly influenced and illustrated through all of his works and especially in “Don Juan.” Yet he still managed to infiltrate his poems with charm, romance, and heroism. Byron was a perfect fit for the Romantic Period and his poems and he was therefore known as a great contributor towards the era.

Comparing Wordsworth and Keats’ Romantic Poetry. Both Wordsworth and Keats are romantic Poets, they express ideas on nature and send us the message to respect it. They say we have to admire the beauty of nature in different ways. Wordsworh uses simpler language in his poems wether to express simple or complex ideas, by which we understand he aimed his poems to lower classes. Keats instead, uses much more complex language to describe and express his ideas, so we know he aimed his poems to the educated.

To the Romantics, the imagination was important. It was the core and foundation of everything they thought about, believed in, and even they way they perceived God itself. The leaders of the Romantic Movement were undoubtedly Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his close friend, William Wordsworth. Both were poets, and both wrote about the imagination. Wordsworth usually wrote about those close to nature, and therefore, in the minds of the Romantics, deeper into the imagination than the ordinary man. Coleridge, however, was to write about the supernatural, how nature extended past the depth of the rational mind.

Can certain events have an affect on the way people think or even the way they write? Well the during the Romantic Era some people, including authors, were influenced by the events that took place during this time. Although the events that took place during the Romantic Era were not always good, they had a major affect on the writing of that time, and author Mary Shelley.

Two closely related texts, one that we've studied in this class and one that we haven't, that handle natural description differently are Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Lord Byron's "Manfred." Both of these texts' central characters have experienced trauma, and their portrayal of their environments reveal the effects that the events have left on them. While Coleridge's mariner is unable to consolidate his past and is relegated to constantly relive it, Byron's Manfred has protected himself from his unnamed vice by distancing himself from his feelings and environment. Obvious parallels exist between the poems, but what I found most striking

Qualities of "reality," the divine, or divinities may be reflected in nature in Romanticism and we can sense God or the gods through our sensing of nature.While in Neo_classicism there is a concern for "nature"--or the way things are (and should be). This relates back to the distrust of innovation and inherent conservatism of neoclassicism. The artistic rules of old, for instance, Pope describes as having been "discovered, not devised" and are "Nature methodized"; so too, "Nature and Homer" are "the same" (Essay on Criticism 88ff., 135). This belief in "nature" implies a conviction that there is a permanent, universal way things are (and should be), which obviously entails fundamental political and ethical commitments. The focus on natural feeling over conventional rules led to an emphasis on the self over the earlier neoclassical emphasis on society. The individual becomes the source of wisdom and morality, displacing the received set of rules and norms given by society. As a result, emphasis is paced on understanding the individual's subjective state, especially as it relates to the outside world. Works ranging from Rousseau's Confessions and Reveries of a Solitary Walker to Wordsworth's Prelude, Coleridge's «conversation» poems, «Dejection», «Frost at Midnight», «Lime Tree Beauty» are examples of the romantic exploration

The friendship of Coleridge and Wordsworth is one of the most literary, productive relationships among the poets of the Romantic Period. Coleridge and Wordsworth were “together on daily basis since July 1797” (Matlak 72). Wordsworth’s poetic career was “reconstructed, if not entirely created through the process of a poetic exchange that made his earlier importance an affective power” (73). At the same time, Wordsworth contributed similarly to Coleridge’s literary career. For example, many of Rime of the Ancient Mariner’s imagery and narrative events were suggested by Wordsworth (Matlak 83.) An early important example of their literary partnership was their Lyrical Ballads. As this friendship lasted until the death of Coleridge, many of the

How does William Wordsworth's poetry fit into the literary tradition of Romanticism? Q. How does William Wordsworth's poetry fit into the literary tradition of Romanticism? A. Romantic poetry was an artistic movement of the late 18th and early 19th century. It dealt with nature, human imagination, childhood and the ability to recall emotional memories of both happiness and sadness.

Both Shelly and Wordsworth believed in nature as an independent living existence. Wordsworth focused on brood over nature, but in passionate and emotional way. He plunges himself into the very existence of nature. Coleridge’s early nature poetry the moralizing and melancholy mood are clearly visible. Wordsworth influence as well as the influence of German Philosophy. In 1795, Coleridge came in contact with Wordsworth whose influence he most readily revived. What Wordsworth taught him was a much strong and confident acceptance of the faith in the joyousness and joy evoking power of

Romanticism came to be in the 18th and 19th centuries which emphasized the imagination and emotions of romanticism. Many people viewed this type of literature as the quality or state of being impractical or unrealistic meaning romantic feelings or ideas. During this time many poets were encouraged to express their true colors and individual uniqueness. The Romantic Era expanded all throughout the world, and reached poets such as Keats, Byron, Shelley, and Wordsworth.