Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Samuel Taylor Coleridge 

1772-1834

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, critic and philosopher.

Samuel Coleridge 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Ottery St. Mary on 21 October 1772, youngest of the ten children of John Coleridge, a minister, and Ann Bowden Coleridge. He was often bullied as a child by Frank, the next youngest, and his mother was apparently a bit distant, so it was no surprise when Col ran away at age seven. He was found early the next morning by a neighbor, but the events of his night outdoors frequently showed up in imagery in his poems (and his nightmares) as well as the notebooks he kept for most of his adult life. John Coleridge died in 1781, and Col was sent away to a London charity school for children of the clergy. He stayed with his maternal uncle2. Col was really quite a prodigy; he devoured books and eventually earned first place in his class. 

His brother Luke died in 1790 and his only sister Ann in 1791, inspiring Col to write "Monody," one of his first poems, in which he likens himself to Thomas Chatterton3. Col was very ill around this time and probably took laudanum for the illness, thus beginning his lifelong opium addiction. He went to Cambridge in 1791, poor in spite of some scholarships, and rapidly worked himself into debt with opium, alcohol, and women. He had started to hope for poetic fame, but by 1793, he owed about £150 and was desperate. So he joined the army.

At the university, he was introduced to political and theological ideas then considered radical, including those of the poet Robert Southey. Coleridge joined Southey in a plan, soon abandoned, to found a utopian commune-like society, called Pantisocracy, in the wilderness of Pennsylvania. In 1795, the two friends married sisters Sarah and Edith Fricker, in St Mary Radcliffe, Bristol, but Coleridge's marriage proved unhappy. He grew to detest his wife, whom he only married because of social constraints. He eventually separated from her. Coleridge made plans to establish a journal, The Watchman, which would print every eight days in order to avoid a weekly newspaper tax. The first issue of the short-lived journal was published in March 1796; it ceased publication by May of that year.

Samuel Coleridge- Frost At Midnight Essay, Research Paper

In the poem, “Frost at Midnight,” Samuel Coleridge uses his creative imagery and fascination with nature to create a beautiful picture of the gifts God has given him and us. He uses a style of prose, which has no particular rhyme or meter. This could be used to help convey his meaning in a more story like way. The poem is broken down into four paragraphs of varying length and all, primarily, deal with nature. 

The poem starts out in a slow and somber mood as he talks about the peacefulness and beauty of nature. He uses many words and phrases to emphasize this particular mood, such as, “peacefully”, “inaudible as dreams”,  “This calm indeed”, and “my low-burnt fire.” In this first paragraph, Coleridge is talking about winter and how everything is peaceful and there is “extreme silentness.” 
 

Samuel Coleridge- Frost At Midnight Essay, Research Paper

In the second paragraph, Coleridge begins reminiscing about a certain day in school, when he was fairly young, “How oft, at school, with most believing mind? Have I gazed upon the bars.” At first, it appears he was very happy, “So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me with a wild pleasure?” But as this paragraph progresses, he begins to show the loneliness in his life, “For still I hoped to see the strangers face.” Though his mood begins to change there still is a calm and somber feeling. 

In paragraph three, Colridge is holding his son, while appreciating nature and what it will give to his child, “it thrills my heart with tender gladness, thus to look at thee, and think that thou shall learn for other lore?” He also shows his appreciation of God and what he has given us. This is the first paragraph where I felt he showed consistent happiness and a faster-paced mood. 

Coleridge concludes his poem by showing his appreciation for all aspects of nature, not just the winter, “Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee.”  He makes a reference to every season of the year and points out a beautiful aspect of each. Though the last paragraph makes these references, clearly, winter is the overall underlying theme of this poem.

Around the year 1796, Samuel first started taking drugs like Laudanum as treatment for his toothache and other ailment which turned into addiction after he became increasingly dependent on it. It is purportedly said that he used drugs as a remedy for his reducing stamina and a substitute to his youth energy. However, there are no substantial proofs for these speculations. Whatever the reason was, his addiction to opium started eating his life and he ended up alien ting from his wife in 1808 or even the worse, falling out with his long time friend William Wordsworth in 1810.  

Drugs Addiction

   

Later Life and Death 

In 1809, Coleridge embarked upon the publication of a weekly journal titled The Friend. The journal made a slow progress initially and soon it was touching the sky of success. It ranked among 'few original and thoughtful journals' of the day with Coleridge's assorted knowledge of law, morals, politics and literary criticism. 

   
Towards the last years of his life, Coleridge's drugs addiction became worsen affecting his morality and work. Now divorced and estranged from the family, he took shelter in the residence of his doctor, where he was visited by several writers. The constant use of opium began to take toll on his life that finally ended on 25 July 1834, when he died of a lung disorder. Sibylline Leaves (1820), Aids to Reflection (1823), and Church and State (1826) were written during his last days in Highgate.

Created by: Zhandos Kobegenev.

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