The Mental Journey to Freedom

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Recommended: View of nature for coleridge

The mind: a vital part of the body in conjunction with the soul that can propel or destroy the human spirit. Within the lines of “This Lime Tree Bower my Prison,” Coleridge presents the idea that one must abandon the feeling of hyperbolized self-pity to discover a true feeling of contentment. Despite the physicality of the human condition, serenity is achieved through the mind with thoughts rooted in appreciation for nature and compassion for others. Once the feeling of selflessness is attained then the soul is transformed and the mind is set free. Thus, what once was a prison of solitude becomes a garden that flourishes with bliss.

The background information associated with the creation of this poem provides insight to the situation that is addressed in “This Lime Tree Bower my Prison.” Coleridge initially wrote this poem as a letter to his friend Charles Lamb. The topic transcended from an event in which Coleridge’s wife “accidentally emptied a skillet of boiling milk on my foot, which confined me during the whole time of Lamb's stay" (Ashton 105). As a result, Coleridge was sentenced to a day of solitude in the garden while his friends journeyed through the forest. At first, he is overwhelmed by self-pity due to his physical condition, but in the third stanza there is a transition that takes place –“a delight comes sudden on my heart” --in which Coleridge begins to imagine himself alongside his friends. In addition to this new outlook, Coleridge casts aside thoughts of selfishness and discovers joy in the idea that his friends, especially Charles Lamb, are able to enjoy their walk. Coleridge causes the reader to think that Lamb deserves this trip after suffering “through evil and pain and strange calamity.” After learning ab...

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...or who is ever present in nature. As a result, he finds peace and contentment that frees him from his mental prison. Despite the physicality of his situation, his mental journey allowed him to discover a true freedom.

Works Cited

Ashton, Rosemary. The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997.

“Charles Lamb." 2012. Biography.com 23 Feb 2012, 03:41 http://www.biography.com/people/charles-lamb-9371897

Mansfield, Hap. "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison." . N.p., 11Aug2011. Web. 25 Feb 2012. .

WriteWork contributors. "Coleridge - Lime–Tree Bower My Prison Analysis" WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 24 February, 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

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