A single inanimate object, The Eolian Harp, sends Coleridge flitting in, out, over and through introspection. The trajectory of the poem may be plotted as follows: terrestrial observations, fixation upon single terrestrial item (i.e. the harp), exulting single item into transcendence, an astral purview of the terrestrial via the item, reassessment of mind frame, guilt and denunciation of transcendent thought, and finally, remorse and dismissal of all preceding drivel (as to adequately and respectfully embrace the noumenal realm). Coleridge’s brain waves wend in a circuitous manner, however, the final result is a sentiment-shift regarding man’s position before (or, as Coleridge concludes, beneath) God.
Stanza one proffers an apostrophic dupe, as Coleridge calls out to his “pensive Sara”. Pedestrian predictability would indicate an amorous ode, perhaps asserting (due regard given to the title) that Sara is a form of caution thrown to the wind, thus generating sweet music from aforementioned harp. This is immediately proven incorrect, as seen in the succeeding lines. The first stanza curtails with a descriptive rant, offering a sense of conviction, as though it be a poem unto itself. Lines 10 through 12 read: Snatched from yon bean-field! and the world so hushed!/The stilly murmur of the distant sea/Tells us of silence/. The barrage of exclamation in concomitance with mentions of silence serve as a paradox which ultimately muzzles narration. “Silence” is apropos in halting a poem, as logic indicates that once a poem reaches its end, the mind ceases churning and goes “silent”. However, in this instance, it may be construed as poetic device. Acknowledging that the poem (both literally and figuratively) chimes on, the remaining syllables curiously missing from line 12 are transferred to line 13: /And that simplest lute,/. Coleridge once again takes possession of his narrative, linking the two stanzas with a conjunction. Moreover, this line seethes with audible sound, the only tangibly present noun being
“lute”.
Here, with the commencement of Stanza 2, Coleridge begins to divest himself of earthly bodies as to become engrossed in the harp’s presence. First, the harp is only stationed atop the window’s sill. Gradually, Coleridge introduces the components necessary for the harp to function. At line 20...
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...with a return to that with which he began: “/Peace, and this cot, and thee, heart-honored Maid!/. As asserted by the preceding lines, the so coined ‘holier-than-thou’ God is responsible for all fortunes bestowed upon Coleridge. He has also chosen to reveal to the reader that the entire poem was, in fact, an address to his “heart-honored Maid”. Conceivably, Coleridge has addressed her as such in order to absolve himself of any perceived wrong-doing; specifically in Line 15: /Like some coy maid half yielding to her lover,/. Distinguishing between “maids”, (one being a trollop, the other a lady of virtue) is a final attempt to get himself ‘off the hook’, colloquially speaking.
As delineated in paragraph one, Coleridge’s poetic field is one rampant with erratic thought and ultimate change. The proposed subject of the poem, an eolian harp, is virtually abandoned and replaced with veneration of a God as well as a lover. One would think that such a fickle publication would be kept isolated by its author. Although, Coleridge may have staked importance in showing his adoration for God publicly. Hence, the ingress and resultant revocation of the Eolian Harp.
The reader might not understand how to interpret the stanza; they could interpret however they wanted to. Coleridge placed the glosses in so that the reader would understand the Mariner woke up and realized that he had done his penance. These...
In his preface to "Kubla Khan," Samuel Taylor Coleridge makes the claim that his poem is a virtual recording of something given to him in a drug-induced reverie, "if that indeed can be called composition in which all the images rose up before him as things . . . without any sensation or consciousness of effort." As spontaneous and as much a product of the unconscious or dreaming world as the poem might seem on first reading, however, it is also a finely structured, well wrought device that suggests the careful manipulation by the conscious mind.
Following the same rhythm and syntax of its preceding and succeeding lines, the line “So Eden sank to grief” is tied into those lines’ depiction of natural transformation and growth. (Poetry for Students)
Furthermore, Wordsworth’s assertion of feelings as the effects of an action or a situation, which means that actions should influence the emotions of the character and not the other way around, is dissimilar to The Raven’s character’s feeling of desperation in which he succumbed to his distress. However, the lesson derived from the bizarre workings of the human mind in preferring more devotion to the pain for the sake of “preserving the memory,” as “The Raven” illustrates, exposes to us how a particular person behaves towards grief. The statement thus proves in relation to Coleridge’s statement of the readers’ elicitation of the poem is more significant than the poem itself (in reference to his emphasis on the importance of the “Return”). Another variation between Wordsworth and Coleridge is that the former claims that the writer must bring the language near to the language of men, whilst the latter believes that the language of poetry should beautiful and elevated. “The Raven” in this case
Coleridge paints the picture of a kingdom, Xanadu, and the surrounding scenery is described with a heavenly, dreamlike vividness that can only result from smoking a little too much opium. This kingdom has a “pleasure dome” that was created by Kubla Kahn. The paradise-like kingdom consists of ten miles of “fertile ground” and is surrounded by walls that are securely “girdled” around the property. The gardens are “blossoming with many an incense baring tree” and are watered by a wandering stream. There is a river, and it gives life to Kubla Kahn’s creations and runs “through caverns measureless to man.”
The third stanza starts using the technique of involving outside interpretation to evaluate Coleridges situation '' So everyone used to wonder why...'' this is primarily used to include the reader in the poem and make them feel a part of the drama. This is also the stanza that the reader is enlightened to Coleridges dilemma, ''Coleridges puny boss, a little white bag of bones, frowned at Coleridge and sneered at him'', it later says ''when that skimpy piece of man meat called Coleridge a sorry nigger, Coleridge kept his lips closed, sealed, jammed tight'' this shows size is irrelevant in this battle as obviously Coleridge could harm his boss easily but does not, he keeps his mouth shut, he doesn't even murmur a retaliation.
To fully understand this poem, the reader would find it helpful to know what led Coleridge to write it. Coleridge grew up with English essayist Charles Lamb in school and the two were close friends (Merriman.) In their later years, however, the two rarely saw each other as Coleridge lived in the country side and Lamb lived in the city, where he cared for his mentally ill sister (Merriman.) On one of the rare days Lamb went to visit him, Coleridge planed to go on a walk through the scenic area surrounding his house with Lamb and some other friends, but before they left, Coleridge’s wife accidentally dropped boiling milk on his foot and he was unable to participate in the walk (Benzon.) While the others gallivanted across the countryside, Coleridge sat in his garden and wrote this poem.
This essay is anchored on the goal of looking closer and scrutinizing the said poem. It is divided into subheadings for the discussion of the analysis of each of the poem’s stanzas.
Coleridge and Poe are both known for writing incredible horror stories. There most famous stories are The Raven, Poe, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge. Both stories were the first of their kind and were written around the same time. These poems have many things in common and many other things not in common. The main focus here is the symbolism of the birds in the poem. The poems are in fact based around the birds and their meanings. There are three main points to compare between the symbolism of the birds, they are; the birds both being an omen, the birds giving a feeling of remorse or prosperity, and the birds creating a false hope.
Overall “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is poem that seems like a simple story told by a sailor about his woes at sea. But Coleridge uses many details to make symbols throughout the story for the reader to interpret and see the connections between it and religion. Whether it be through the Christ like albatross, which most would just see as a simple bird, or the woman on the boat showing how the lifestyle might be fun but ultimate leads to nothing we see that these small details create a bigger story than what is just on the cover.
...o convey his ideas on the Victorians and their attitude towards religion and money. “The Latest Decalogue” is both a parody of the ten commandments, and a satire on the Victorian period and its hypocrisy. This poem depicts a perversion of Christianity due to the decadence of organised faith, being a natural phenomenon in a modern and scientific world; revealing how Christianity plays a increasingly small role in everyday life during the Victorian period, as it is gradually replaced by evolution and other scientific ideas, as well as social Darwinism which lead the Victorians to strive towards the ideal of the self-made-man.
Coleridge’s preoccupation with light and the way in which it changes the perception of the object is what links this passage with the ideas of Berkeley. Even though Coleridge and many other Romantics (such as Wordsworth) used the came to different conclusions about perception than Berkeley, his theories about light “pointed to the why in which such phenomena of light as the rainbow could be used as a scientific model for the imagination as a perceptual relationship between man and nature” (Prickett 13).
Moreover, these various fragments all combine to instill a sense of ambiguity throughout the poem. In a sense, as the poem progresses, the audience discovers further and more troublesome questions regarding its message and its implications. The audience, perhaps, even begins to wonder if there are indeed absolute answers or whether Coleridge consciously intended to create an unresolved poem. Amid this unsettling tumult of questions, one is left to dedicatedly follow Coleridge’s journey in a sequential manner in an attempt to consider and ponder these ambiguities as they arise. Inevitably, however, lingering questions will ...
In his introduction to the Norton Anthology of English Literature M. H. Abrams attempts to overcome these difficulties by identifying the 'five cardinal elements' of Romantic poetry. According to Abrams, Romantic poetry is distinguished by the belief that poetry is not an "imitation of nature" but a "representation of the poet's internal emotions". Secondly, that the writing of poetry should be "an effortless expression" and not an "arduous exercise". The prevalence of nature in Romantic poetry and what Abrams calls "the glorification of the ordinary and the outcast" are identified as two further common elements, as is the sense of a "supernatural" or "satanic presence" (Abrams, 2000, pp. 7-11). It is with regard to this elemental understanding of Romantic poetry that I will conduct my close critical analysis of 'Frost at Midnight' to examine the extent to which the poem embodie...
The poem begins with Wordsworth instructing the reader through the use of apostrophe to look upon the “solitary Highland Lass” (2) who is “Reaping and singing by herself” (3). Calling the solitary reaper a “lass”, Wordsworth brings into focus the image of a girl who is young, yet experienced and mature due to the hardships of the rural countryside. As the solitary girl “cuts and binds the grain” (5) by herself, ostensibly unaware of her surroundings, Wordsworth commands people who encounter her to “Stop here, or gently pass” (4). Demanding others to “Stop here” (4), Wordsworth reveals his belief that the lass’s melody is alluring and worthy enough to be heard and acknowledged by all bystanders. Yet Wordsworth does not force people to listen to the reaper’s song as he also gives those passing by the option to “gently pass” (4). Not wanting anything to disturb the highland lass from both her labors and her singing, Wordsworth seemingly beseeches s...