Samuel Taylor
Coleridge Poet
A Linguistic at Heart
• Understands words and language
– Both written and spoken language. Understands
relationship between communication and
meaning.
• Typical jobs include:
– Writers, journalists, speakers, copy-writers,
English teachers, poets, editors, translators, PR
consultants, TV and radio commentators and
voice-over animators.
Life
• Born in Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire
• Youngest of 10, 12, or 14 children depending on which
source you look into
• His father died when he was 9 and he was sent away to a
London charity school for children of the clergy
• His brother Luke died in 1790 and his only sister Ann in
1791, inspiring him to write “Monody,” which is one of his
first poems
– He was very ill around this time and took laudanum for the illness, this
was the beginning to his lifelong opium addiction
Opium is a drug distilled from the juice of
the poppy flower. It contains morphine.
Life Continued
• He went to Cambridge in 1791, despite being
poor, and rapidly worked himself into debt with
opium, alcohol, and women.
• He dropped out of college because of financial
problems (because of the opium addiction)
• He then married Sara Fricker in 1795 and then
had a son, Hartley, that was born the following
year.
• The same year Coleridge met William Wordsworth
and the two spent much time discussing poetry,
politics, and philosophy.
• The two decided to collaborate on a volume of
poems intended to revolutionize the practice of
contemporary poetry.
• In 1799 he fell in love with Sara
Hutchinson and soon after separated
from his wife, the other Sara.
• In 1810 Coleridge became estranged
from Wordsworth, who disapproved
of the irresponsible way in which he
handled his family obligations.
• Not long after this he suffered from
the chronic illness of rheumatoid
arthritis or neuralgia, which led to a
life long OPIUM addiction.
• He died on July 25, 1834
Coleridge and the English Language
• Unique command of written word
• Uses literary devices to create images
– May understand better when Kubla Khan is
read
– Alliteration- repetition of first consonant
• Waning moon was haunted by woman wailing for
her demon lover
• Assonance- repetition of vowel sounds
• Find examples in lines 31-34
•
•
•
•
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
• Now find Alliteration in the above lines
Assonance
•
•
•
•
•
Assonance:
Midway/waves
Heard/measure
Alliteration:
Mingled measure
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
~ The poem starts out with an old sailor telling a story to a
guest at a wedding. Coleridge may use this occasion
because the Mariner’s story is a warning about the
isolation and guilt brought about by a break with nature
and society, while a wedding affirms UNITY.
~ The ancient mariner was a captain of a ship and while
out to sea, he was surrounded by a fog and blown off
course by an incredible wind. When the fog finally lifted
he and his crew were somewhere near Antarctica. An
Albatross shows up and saves the day by showing them
how to get back home. As soon as they were on their way,
the ancient mariner shot the Albatross with a crossbow
for no good reason! Just to be mean to animals.
• ~ Now, because he shot
the Albatross, the spirit of
the South becomes very
angry and he sends a
Specter Woman and her
Death mate to capture the
ancient mariner and his
crew. The crew saw the
ship coming and as to lay
blame of the death of the
Albatross on the captain,
they tied a string around
the Albatross and then
around the captain’s neck.
All fall dead after Specter
Woman comes
Specter Woman and Death mate kill
the shipmates symbolizing the way
GUILT cuts off an individual from
others.
~ The crew all of a sudden up and died (Death) with
accusing eyes to the ancient mariner. Because of the
accusing eyes of his crew, he was unable to look up
into the heavens and pray for his own safety. After a
week of journey the captain was looking over the
railing of the ship and he saw a water snake.
Unaware, he blessed the water snake and upon this
he was able to pray and the Albatross fell from his
neck and sank to the bottom of the sea like lead.The
abatross is a symbol of GUILT for man’s break with
nature or society. It fell off because his guilt was
FORGIVEN. The ancient mariner was returned to his
ship and angelic spirits entered the body of his crew.
~ The ancient mariner was then put into a trance so
that the spirits could move the ship so quickly that
human life could not endure. Upon reaching his
homeland, he awoke from his trance and the
angelic spirits left the bodies of his dead crewmen
and returned to their home in the sky. The ancient
mariner then had to find the Hermit of the Woods
so that he could teach the ancient mariner
compassion for the animals.
Ancient Mariner Theme
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner relates to
the Romantics by nature:
– Because of the Ancient Mariner shooting down
the Albatross, the spirit of the South got angry
at him for killing a part of nature.
– After he wasn’t able to pray to the heavens, he
unknowingly blessed the water snakes. By
doing so, he saved himself.
Song Comparison
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron
Maiden is EXACTLY the same as the poem
by Coleridge.
Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan
• In Xanadu, Kubla Khan built a pleasure dome where the
River Alph ran. Walls were built around “twice five miles
of fertile ground” filled with gardens and forests. The river
ran for five miles through the forest and into an ocean.
There, the sounds of a woman wailing to her demon lover
could be heard. Kubla also heard ancestral voices
prophesying war.
• Speaker said he once saw a “damsel with a dulicmer” who
sang of Mount Abora. He said that he could revive her
music within him and rebuild the pleasure dome with song.
• All those who had heard would cry “beware” and circle
him thrice and close their eyes with “holy dread” because
he had tasted honeydew and “drunk the milk of Paradise”.
Kubla Khan Theme
• You can NOT bar out the world and build a
UTOPIA. It’s an IDEAL CONCEPT, but doesn’t
work.
• The Romantics believed that in one’s core, they
are one with nature.
• Kubla Khan explains the “Eternal Delight” of
untamed nature (Chaos) and how it is beyond
human control, possibly meaning that wild
disorder in the chasm might represent the
pressures that drive artists to the ordered creation
of works of art like the dome. They must always
face the critic.
Analysis
• What does the“Holy Dread” experienced by “all
who heard” suggest about the power of ART?
Possible answer
• It suggests that art can reveal truths that are
dark and disturbing
• Connection between this “dread” and the
existence of the chasm at the site of the
dome?
Analysis and Sinister Elements
• The dread aroused can be caused by the
source or inspiration of the artistic
endeavor.
• .Sinister elements:
– Sunless sea, waning moon, woman wailing for her
DEMON lover, the chasm and the emptying fountain,
and the lifeless ocean.
Unfinished Poem
• Coleridge fell asleep and dreamed for 3 hours and
when he awoke remembered the whole dream
vividly and began writing down the lines without
any trouble.
• This poem is uncompleted because a salesman
from Porlock knocked on the door and detained
him for an hour. He couldn’t remember the rest of
the dream and therefore it can be open to many
different interpretations on theme
QUIZ
• 1. Who did Coleridge collaborate with on
Lyrical Ballads?
• 2. His neuralgia and rheumatoid arthritis
led to what addiction?
• 3. Why is Kubla Khan unfinished?
• 4. List 2 literary devices he used.
• 5. What is the theme of Kubla Khan?
• 6. What does the CHAOS in Kubla Khan
represent?
• 7. On what occasion does the Mariner tell
his story?
• 8. Interpret- Why do you think Coleridge
chose this occasion for the poem?
• 9. Why was the mariner punished and what
must he wear for his crime?
• 10. What happens to the ship mates after the
appearance of the Specter Woman and her
Death-mate?
• 11. What is symbolized by Specter
Woman’s actions?
• 12. Why does the albatross finally fall from
around the mariner’s neck?
• 13. What do you think the Albatross
symbolizes? Support your answer.
• 14. What is the mariner’s life long penance?
• 15. What larger lesson about human life
might his story suggest?