Grade Saver PDF on Samuel Taylor Coleridge.Pdf

ClassicNote on Coleridge's Poems Table of Contents Biography of Coleridge, Samuel (1772-1834)...... 1

About Coleridge's Poems...... 3

Character List...... 4 Coleridge's infant son (Hartley Coleridge)...... 4 Kubla Khan...... 4 The Lady (Coleridge's lover, Sara Hutchinson)...... 4 William Wordsworth...... 4 Dorothy Wordsworth...... 5 The young woman who listens to the nightingales...... 5 Christabel...... 5 Geraldine...... 5 Sir Leoline...... 5 Lord Roland de Vaux of Tryermaine...... 6 Bracy the Bard...... 6

Major Themes...... 7 Childhood...... 7 Innocence...... 7 Man's relationship with nature...... 7 Dreams/Sleep...... 8 Imagination...... 8 Happiness...... 8 Evening/Night...... 9

Glossary of Terms...... 10 bard...... 10 capricious...... 10 cedarn...... 10 cincture...... 10 conversational poem...... 10 dulcimier...... 10 Eolian...... 10 genial...... 10 grove...... 11 luminous...... 11

i Table of Contents Glossary of Terms lyric poem...... 11 mastiff...... 11 melancholy...... 11 nightingale...... 11 ode...... 11 palfrey...... 11 Romanticism...... 12 sonnet...... 12 speaker...... 12 wonted...... 12

Short Summary...... 13

Quotes and Analysis...... 15

Summary and Analysis of "Christabel" (Part I, 1797; Part II, 1800; "The Conclusion to Part II," 1801)...... 20

Summary and Analysis of "Kubla Khan" (1798)...... 25

Summary and Analysis of "Sonnet: To the River Otter" (1793)...... 27

Summary and Analysis of "The Nightingale" (1798)...... 29

Summary and Analysis of "Dejection: An Ode" (1802)...... 32

Summary and Analysis of "Frost at Midnight" (1798)...... 35

Suggested Essay Questions...... 39

The "Willing Suspension of Disbelief"...... 42

ii Table of Contents Author of ClassicNote and Sources...... 43

Essay: Lifeblood...... 44

Quiz 1...... 47

Quiz 1 Answer Key...... 52

Quiz 2...... 53

Quiz 2 Answer Key...... 58

Quiz 3...... 59

Quiz 3 Answer Key...... 64

Quiz 4...... 65

Quiz 4 Answer Key...... 70

iii Biography of Coleridge, Samuel (1772-1834)

In the context of literary history, Samuel Taylor Coleridge is often seen as "the most intellectual of the English Romantics" due to his extensive forays into critical writing, especially his Biographia Literaria (1817) and lectures on Shakespeare. This is not to say that Coleridge's creative side received short shrift; friends and colleagues knew him as an unrelentingly passionate poet. In a letter to a friend, Dorothy Wordsworth gushed: "His eye is large and full, not dark but grey; such an eye as would receive from a heavy soul the dullest expression; but it speaks every emotion of his animated mind; it has more of the `poet's eye in a fine frenzy rolling' than I ever witnessed." Like his famous character, the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge's very eyes spoke of his compulsion to tell stories. But Coleridge did not take himself too seriously; in addition to publishing under his initials, STC (or "Estisi"), he was known to publish works mocking his own style under the lighthearted pseudonyms Silas Tomkyn Comerbache and Nehemiah Higginbottom.

Coleridge was born on October 21, 1772 in Devonshire, England. He was the youngest of 14 children. Coleridge proved to be a brilliant student from early on, and continued his excellence at Jesus College. At the same time, however, he was experimenting with the pleasures of alcohol, women, and most famously, opium. After school, Coleridge joined the Dragoons for a short time and then hastily married Sara Southey, the younger sister of his friend, the future poet laureate Robert Southey. He earned a living as a Unitarian preacher for a short time while remaining in an incompatible marriage, and began to focus seriously on his love of writing. In the late 1790s, Coleridge began his famous friendship with William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy. Their intellectual and artistic exchanges culminated in Lyrical Ballads 1798, in which "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" was first published. The collection was a major landmark in the Romantic Movement; in it, the two writers exemplified the examination of the mundane, natural, and intensely subjective. Many of the poems were also written in everyday language, avoiding the ornamented styles of speech and elaborate rhyme schemes favored by poets of earlier periods. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is one exception to this trend, as in it Coleridge used both a rhyme scheme and words derived from Middle English. Soon after the publication of Lyrical Ballads, Coleridge fell in love with Sara Hutchinson, the sister of Wordsworth's future wife. Since he was already married, he was forced to channel his love for Sara Hutchinson into his poetry, where he referred to her by an anagram of her name, "Asra." Coleridge published the second version of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in 1817 in the volume Sibylline Leaves. In it he removed much of the original poem's deliberate archaism and added marginal glosses.

After travels abroad in Sicily and Malta, Coleridge returned to England in a state that worried his closest friends. His opium addiction had escalated to the point of straining his relationships with his wife and friends. Most notably, in 1810 Coleridge and Wordsworth suffered a falling out, and never entirely regained their former closeness. Eventually, on the verge of suicide, he moved in with a doctor who managed his care for the last eighteen years of his life. While in the doctor's care, Coleridge published the unfinished poems "Christabel" and "Kubla Khan", which became icons of Romantic poetry.

Biography of Coleridge, Samuel (1772-1834) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 1 Samuel Taylor Coleridge died on July 25, 1834 at the age of 61. Upon his death, his good friend Charles Lamb claimed he could not grieve for Coleridge, saying: "It seemed to me that he long had been on the confines of the next world - that he had a hunger for eternity." According to Lamb, Coleridge spent his life striving for the eternal and sublime, so that death was for him the fulfillment of his deepest desire, rather than a dreaded end.

In 1798, Coleridge and longtime friend William Wordsworth anonymously published Lyrical Ballads, a work which officially began the Romantic movement in English poetry. Though not the first of Colerdige's published works, Lyrical Ballads established Coleridge among the foremost poetic voices in 18th century England. Coleridge often uses a matter-of-fact, conversational style in his poetry, a practice in keeping with the Romantic ideal that poetry should be about and for the average reader. Many of his poems are in fact lyrical conversations between Coleridge and some unseen, silent listener; William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth, Sara Hutchins, and even Coleridge's own infant son Hartley appear in these poetic monologues.

Coleridge also emphasized the supernatural and the power of the natural world in his works. "Kubla Khan" describes the building of a "stately pleasure dome" that itself is formed by the bizarre natural (supernatural?) phenomena of icy caves under a sunlit sky. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" combines elements of the natural world (such as the Albatross) with the supernatural (such as the strange sea creatures) to describe the connection between the seen and unseen worlds, as well as human beings' interconnection with both. Nature is celebrated outright in other poems, such as Coleridge's "Sonnet: To the River Otter," and forms the basis of thoughtful meditation in "Frost at Midnight."

The voice Coleridge uses in his poetry is often somber and melancholy, as can be most clearly seen in "Dejection: An Ode" but which also appears in the first half of "Frost at Midnight." Like most Romantics, Coleridge took a very personal stance in his poetry, writing much of it in response to his own life experiences or his views on current events in which he had an interest. Thus "Dejection: An Ode" reflects upon his own unrequited love, while "France: An Ode" meditates upon his own growing disillusionment with the revolution in France.

Most of Coleridge's poetry is lyric; that is, it has a song-like quality and is quite suited to reading (or even singing) aloud. Coleridge fused this popular writing style with his own experimental poetic forms, as when he based the scheme of "Christabel" not on rhyme, but on the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables.

A prolific writer, Coleridge seems to have seldom been satisfied with his own final products. Much of his most famous published poetry is either fragmentary or heavily rewritten. There exist two different versions of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (an early, yet complete one published in Lyrical Ballads and his heavily-rewritten later published version) and both "Kubla Khan" and "Christabel," two of his most influential works, are incomplete. It is a testament to the power of Coleridge's wordcraft that even in such fragments, he managed to change the world of poetry forever.

Coleridge's infant son (Hartley Coleridge)

Coleridge’s infant son is the silent listener in the conversation poem "Frost at Midnight." Hartley is also mentioned at the end of “The Nightingale.” The boy seems to be a sort of muse incarnate for Coleridge, who finds his greatest joy in seeing the infant and in imagining the future the boy may have, raised as he will be by one who appreciates nature and has felt the loss of its presence in his own urban upbringing.

Kubla Khan

Kubla Khan is an explorer who explores the land of Xanadu in “Kubla Khan.” He decrees that a "stately pleasure dome" be built, demonstrating his authority over others and the natural (and perhaps supernatural) world.

Kubla Khan is meant to be a figure who evokes opposing moods in the reader. He is amazing and admirable in his exploration and creation of unearthly marvels, but he is also someone to "beware" in the latter half of the poem, for his wonderful qualities come from the same source--his almost (or truly?) supernatural connection to the natural world.

The Lady (Coleridge's lover, Sara Hutchinson)

The "Lady" is addressed in the conversation poem "Dejection: An Ode." The Lady is the source of the speaker's heartbreak. Since Coleridge was married at the time he wrote "Dejection," it is possible he channeled the sense of longing for something highly desirable yet unobtainable into his presentation of "the Lady." She comes to represent the distant beloved, for whom the lover can only pray good dreams since he cannot be in her presence himself to guarantee her happiness.

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth accompanies Coleridge on an evening walk in "The Nightingale." William is also one of the silent listeners in this conversation poem.

Wordsworth was Coleridge's collaborator on the seminal Lyrical Ballads, which ushered in the Romantic age of poetry. From close friendship with William and his sister Dorothy Coleridge drew much of his inspiration to create the kinds of experimental (yet often nostalgic) poetry for which he is famous.

Dorothy Wordsworth, who is the sister of William Wordsworth and a close friend of Coleridge, accompanies Coleridge in an evening walk in "The Nightingale." Dorothy is also one of the silent listeners (along with William)in this conversation poem.

The young woman who listens to the nightingales

In "The Nightingale," Coleridge tells William and Dorothy Wordsworth about a young woman who comes every evening to a grove near an abandoned castle in order to the listen to the songs of the nightingales.

Christabel

Christabel, the main character in the poem "Christabel," is an innocent and devout young woman who rescues Geraldine. She represents purity at risk in the face of deceitful beauty and sinful lust.

Christabel is not simply a helpless damsel in distress, however. She fights boldly against Geraldine's influence and can see danger where her own father sees only an attractive young lady and a political opportunity. Christabel is actually able to resist Geraldine briefly when she prays and momentarily breaks the spell of silence the evil woman has placed upon her.

Geraldine

In "Christabel," Geraldine is the young woman who is rescued and cared for by Christabel. Geraldine is one of the earliest literary depictions of the female vampire, although she also follows in the tradition of the "white woman" ghost stories.

Geraldine represents carnal desire and the darker side of human nature. She portrays herself as a victim of male violence, but in fact performs her own acts of violence against the innocent soul of Christabel. At times beautiful, Geraldine's true nature is revealed in the scarred and deformed body she hides under her white dress and the snakelike hissing she directs toward the resistant Christabel.

Sir Leoline

In "Christabel," Sir Leoline is the ailing father of Christabel. His impotence is paralleled in the "toothless mastiff" which guards his home. He is depicted as the loving father who betrays his love and trust of his child in favor of a dangerous and beautiful woman.

In "Christabel," Lord Roland de Vaux of Tryermaine is the father of Geraldine. He was once boyhood friends with Sir Leoline.

Bracy the Bard

In "Christabel," Bracy the Bard works for Sir Leoline and is ordered by Sir Leoline to take Geraldine back to her father.

Childhood

Several of Coleridge’s poem mention childhood, whether it is a poem’s adult speaker reflecting on childhood memories (such as in “Frost at Midnight” and “Sonnet: To the River Otter”) or Coleridge’s discussion of the hopes he has for his son (such as in “Frost at Midnight” and “The Nightingale”). Coleridge’s focus on childhood revolves around an idealization of the carefree nature and innocence of childhood.

For Coleridge, childhood is the shaper of adult destiny. He finds that his own upbringing was marred by life in the city, and hopes to create a better connection between his son and the spirit of nature by raising his own child in the countryside. Childhood innocence and free-spiritedness is the hope unobtainable to Coleridge the adult, so he wishes to prolong and deepen this experience for the next generation.

Innocence

In connection with the aforementioned theme of childhood, several of Coleridge’s poems focus on innocence. In the poems in which Coleridge either speaks to of speak of his son, “Frost at Midnight” and “The Nightingale,” Coleridge expresses much happiness in the prospects of creating a nurturing and idyllic upbringing for his son. In “Christabel,” Coleridge explores the vulnerability of innocence and purity.

In Coleridge's works, innocence is not the same as ignorance, nor is it a sort of bland simplicity. His innocence is the state of being pure in one's relationship to nature and to others--to have no artificial barriers or societal constructs barring one's appreciation of the natural world. Innocence is a deep state of being, in which one's thought and emotions are unified and without the conflicts experienced by the majority of "experienced" humanity.

Man's relationship with nature

An appreciation of the marvels of nature is a constant theme that runs throughout Coleridge’s poetry. In poems such “The Nightingale” and “Dejection: An Ode,” Coleridge conveys his understanding that man and nature are separate entities, thus people should not project their own qualities onto their interpretation of nature’s qualities. In “Frost at Midnight” and “Sonnet: To the River Otter,” Coleridge describes how an intimate relationship with nature influences a child’s happiness.

The speaker's of Coleridge's poems (usually Coleridge himself) often mourn their own incomplete connection with nature. Coleridge blamed his own inability to simply enjoy nature in all her myriad forms on his youthful experience in the city, where natural beauty was rare to behold. He connects childhood innocence and a correct

Dreams/Sleep

In Coleridge’s poems, sleep and dreams offer a portal to experiencing happiness and ecstasy. In “Christabel,” the title character dreams at night and has “a vision sweet”about the knight whom she will marry. In “Kubla Khan,” the dream-world of Xanadu offers fantastical features of nature such as a “sunny pleasure-dome.”

In "Frost at Midnight," Coleridge places a dream within a daydream when he turns his thoughts back to a summer childhood in the second stanza. There the child-speaker looks out his classroom windown to long for the natural world outside so long that he is lulled into a hazy daydream of running about outside even as he sits at his desk, supposedly studying, inside the school. For one brief moment, this dream allowed the young Coleridge to escape the confines of the classroom, and it is to this escape that the adult Coleridge turns in his own moment of solemn introspection in the frosty winter midnight.

Imagination

The power of the imagination is a familiar motif in several of Coleridge’s poems. In “Kubla Khan,” Coleridge explores the fantastical creations of the imagination. In “Dejection: An Ode,” Coleridge laments on the pain an artist suffers when his imagination and creativity are stifled by depression. In “Frost at Midnight,” Coleridge likewise laments the aimlessness of his thoughts of his thought and his lack of originality and creativity on the particular night of the poem’s setting.

The imagination is connected to nature and to childhood in Coleridge's works. Kubla Khan's "stately pleasure dome" is a thing of imagination, but the reader knows this primarily because it is an inconceivable juxtaposition of natural elements (caves of ice over an underground sunless sea). In "Frost at Midnight" the speaker longs for the imaginative powers of his youth, when he could sit inside a classroom on a bright, hot summer's day and imagine himself outdoors running through the countryside.

Happiness

Several of Coleridge’s poems explore the sources of happiness. In “Dejection: An Ode,” Coleridge acknowledges that he cannot solely rely on his external surroundings in nature to bring him happiness and that he must take responsibility for his emotional state. Nevertheless, in “Frost at Midnight,” “Sonnet: To the River Otter,” and “The Nightingale,” Coleridge describes how having an intimate relationship with nature can have a positive effect on one’s happiness.

Man's relationship with nature Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 8 Happiness is also to be found in returning to a state of childlike innocence. Gazing upon his baby in "Frost at Midnight," Coleridge is overwhelmed by the child's beauty and made dizzyingly happy. LIkewise, it is the days of his youth which make him happy in "Sonnet: To the River Otter."

Evening/Night

In the essay “Coleridge and the Scene of Lyric Description,” Christopher R. Miller notes that “Coleridge’s major lyrics are evening poems that usually mark the changes from sunset to twilight to darkness or frame themselves as solitary nocturnal vigils” (521). The poems “Frost at Midnight,” “Dejection: An Ode,” and “The Nightingale” all exemplify Miller’s observation. In all three of these poems, Coleridge observes the features of the evening or the night, while mediating on subjects such as man’s relationship with nature and the true sources of happiness.

A professional poet, usually employed by a nobleman to perform songs and relate news. capricious impulsive, unpredictable, or subject to sudden change cedarn having to do with the cedar tree or wood from a cedar tree cincture a belt or sash conversational poem

A poem in which the speaker holds a one-sided dialogue with another person, who listens silently. dulcimier a fretted, stringed musical instrument played by plucking or strumming the strings

Eolian

From the Greek god of the winds, Aeolus: having to do with the wind. genial friendly or cheerful

A small group of trees, sometimes considered a sacred place by nature-focused religions. luminous well-lighted or lit up; illuminated; shining with an inner light lyric poem

A short poem possessing the qualities of a song. Lyric poems usually express the speaker's emotions and personal feelings. mastiff

A large, massive, and symmetrically-framed dog; mastiffs are often used as guard dogs. melancholy

A feeling of deep sadness, sometimes described as depression in modern terms. nightingale

A small brown bird with a red tail that often sings at night as well as day. ode

A rhyming poem dedicated to a specific subject, usually written with a serious or dignified tone. palfrey a highly valued riding horse in the Middle Ages

In England, a literary and artistic movement of the 18th century which focused on the imagination, nature, strong emotions, and often the supernatural. Romantic poets were known both for experimenting with poetic forms and for writing much of their verse in common, everyday language on mundane (rather than lofty and noble) subjects. sonnet

A fourteen-line poem holding to a particular rhyme scheme. speaker

In poetry, the voice which is telling the story or creating the lines is the speaker. While not always identified with the author, in Coleridge's very autobiographical verse, the speaker is often easily identified with Coleridge himself. wonted established as a habit; customary

This ClassicNotes study guide focuses on the following six poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Sonnet: To the River,” “Christabel,” Frost at Midnight,” “The Nightingale,” “Kubla Khan,” and “Dejection: An Ode.” The collection of poems in this study guide highlights the various poetic styles of Coleridge (e.g., sonnets, lyric poems, and conversation poems) as well as the familiar motifs and themes that characterize his poetry.

Coleridge is perhaps best known for excelling in the “conversation” style of poetry. In his conversation poems, Coleridge created a one-sided dialogue in which he was the speaker and his family members (such as his son Hartley) and close friends (such as William Wordsworth) were the silent listeners.

The conversation poems included in this study guide are “Frost at Midnight,” “The Nightingale,” and “Dejection: An Ode.” In “Frost at Midnight,” Coleridge speaks to his sleeping infant son, Hartley, and reflects on his upbringing in the city, his childhood longing to return to his rural birthplace, and his dedication to ensuring that his son will develop an intimate relationship with nature. In “The Nightingale,” in which Coleridge addresses William Wordsworth and Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy, Coleridge’s appreciation and love of nature is once again the main topic of the poem. Coleridge also criticizes the phenomenon of poets projecting their own melancholy feelings upon nature and thus writing about nature as representative of their own sorrows and frustrations. Coleridge’s ending declaration in “The Nightingale,” that his son will develop a true appreciation of nature, mirrors the poet’s intentions for his son in “Frost at Midnight.” In “Dejection: An Ode,” Coleridge addresses his former lover, Sara Hutchinson, whom he refers to only as “Lady.” Coleridge describes how his sorrow over their relationship has dulled him emotionally and has stifled his creativity and imagination. The theme of nature is also present in this poem, since Coleridge hopes that the ominous-looking moon he sees will bring a storm that will enliven his emotions.

“Christabel” is a long lyric poem about a devout young maiden named Christabel and her efforts to save Geraldine, a young woman Christabel finds in the woods. Geraldine had been kidnapped from her father’s castle by unknown knights, who then abandoned her in the woods. In this tale of how Christabel takes Geraldine into her home and serves as the witness to and later the victim of Geraldine’s spells, Coleridge explores the struggles between sin and purity, as well as between religion and mysticism.

“Kubla Khan” is another lyric poem and is perhaps one of Coleridge’s best-known poems, alongside “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The popular legend behind the creation of “Kubla Khan” is that Coleridge was inspired to write the poem after awaking from an opium-induced dream about an Asian emperor. The poem details the exploits of an explorer named Kubla Khan in the foreign land of Xanadu. In “Kubla Khan,” Coleridge explores the familiar themes of the powers and complexities of nature and mysticism.

In "Sonnet: To the River Otter", Coleridge once again explores the adult's longing for the innocence and happiness of childhood, as well as a longing for the idyllic pastoral life. The speaker of the home returns to a

It was a miracle of rare device,

A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

"Kubla Khan" lines 35-36

These lines from "Kubla Khan" describe the most fantastical feature of the land of Xanadu. The oxymoronic features of this dome, whic is both sunny and made of ice, emphasizes Coleridge's familiar theme of the wonders that are present in nature.

And all who heard should see them there,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

Weave a circle round him thrice,

And close your eyes with holy dread,

For he on honey-dew hath fed,

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

"Kubla Khan" lines 48-54

These final lines of "Kubla Khan" exemplify the theme of mysticism/the supernatural in the poem. The bewitched man, who is the subject of these lines, can no longer exist as a "normal" person after seeing all the wonders of nature in the foreign land of Xanadu (which is the "Paradise" referred to in the quotation).

I may not hope from outward forms to win

"Dejection: An Ode"

In this quotation, Coleridge acknowledges the futility of his efforts to use his natural surroundings as his source of happiness. He realizes that his happiness must come from an internal source and that he cannot rely on external sources.

Visit her, gentle Sleep! with wings of healing,

And may this storm be but a mountain-birth,

May all the stars hang bright above her dwelling,

Silent as though they watched the sleeping Earth!

"Dejection: An Ode"

Coleridge's wish of goodwill for his "Lady"/former lover is an example of theme of the power of sleep and dreams. Coleridge describes sleep as a means of "healing" and as a portal to happiness.

On my way,

Visions of childhood! oft have ye beguiled

Lone manhood’s cares, yet waking fondest sighs:

Ah! that once more I were a careless child!

"Sonnet: To the River Otter" lines 11-14

This quotation highlights the adult speaker's longing to return to the idyllic innocence of childhood. The idealization of the joys of childhood is a common theme in Coleridge's poetry.

Hath a toothless mastiff bitch;

"Christabel" lines 6-7

Prior to his description as infirm, Coleridge introduces Sir Leoline paired with his guard dog, a "toothless" female dog, clearly old and beyond service as a protector. This foreshadows Sir Leoline's own failure to protect his daughter from the machinations of Geraldine.

The gate that was ironed within and without,

Where an army in battle array had marched out.

The lady sank, belike through pain,

And Christabel with might and main

Lifter her up, a weary weight,

"Christabel" lines 127-131

Geraldine faints (or feigns a swoon) at the threshold of the castle. This may be an allusion to tales in which vampires cannot enter a home unless invited (or in this case voluntarily carried), or the proximity of the iron gates may indicate that Geraldine possesses a Faerie nature, and is thus susceptible to harm from iron. Either way, Geraldine is only weakened at the threshold, forcing Christabel to bring her into the castle of her own free will.

Christabel answered--Woe is me!

She died the hour that I was born.

Christabel here explains to Geraldine that her mother, though long dead, may yet watch over her as a guardian spirit. Aside, Geraldine commands this same spirit to depart and leave Christabel in her power. The supernatural elements of guardian spirits and a vampiric houseguest may give way to the more natural tension between the departed mother and a new rival for Sir Leoline's affections.

The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,

Have left me to that solitude, which suits

Abstruser musings: save that at my side

My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.

"Frost at Midnight" lines 4-7

The speaker takes advantage of the solitude to meditate on the snowy silence outside, but at the same time is reminded that he is not truly alone: his infant son rests next to him. Coleridge's son Hartley would often figure into his poetry as an object of his affections and hopes. Here his presence foreshadows Coleridge's final wishes that his son might appreciate all of nature more fully than Coleridge himself--raised as he was in the city--cannot.

'Most musical, most melancholy' bird!

A melancholy bird! Oh, idle thought!

In nature there is nothing melancholy.

"The Nightingale" lines 13-15

Coleridge decries the poetic trope of describing the Nightingale as melancholy. He draws from this bird--as from all of nature--joy and hope, not sorrow. Often in his poetry, Coleridge turns poetic conventions around;

Quotes and Analysis Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 18 here in particular he argues against the common misconception of nighttime as a period of fear and the unknown. To Coleridge, the nightingale is a harbinger of all that can be appreciated and learned from nature in the stillness of a moonlit night.

Summary

*Part I*

The poem begins in the middle of the night in April. The female mastiff of the rich baron Sir Leoline howls at the sound of the clock striking twelve. The unnamed speaker of the poem predicts that the dog is howling because she somehow sees the shroud of Christabel, the baron’s only daughter, in the woods. On the previous night, Christabel dreamed about the knight she is supposed to marry. She has gone to the woods on this night to pray for him. While she is praying at an oak tree, Christabel suddenly springs up because she hears a moaning noise, but she can’t tell from where or from whom the noise comes. Christabel realizes that the noise comes from a strange woman who is on the other side of the oak tree. The beautiful woman is a “damsel bright” and is dressed in a white robe. Christabel asks the woman who she is, and the woman asks Christabel to have pity on her because she is nearly too weary to speak. The woman extends her hand to Christabel and asks her to have no fear. The woman says that her name is Geraldine and that she is the daughter of a noble man. Geraldine says that on the previous morning, five warriors kidnapped her and tied her to a white palfrey. The five warriors, none of whom Geraldine recognized, rode behind the palfrey on white horses. After one night passed, one of the warriors untied Geraldine from the palfrey, muttered something to the other warriors, and then placed Geraldine underneath the oak by which Christabel was praying. Geraldine says that she has no idea how long she has been by the oak since she is extremely weary and scarcely alive. Geraldine says that the warrior who untied her said that he and the other warriors would soon return to the oak. The castle bell’s striking of the midnight hour led Geraldine to fear that the warriors would come soon to retrieve her. Geraldine asks Christabel to protect her from the warriors. Christabel takes Geraldine’s hand and comforts the weary woman by telling her that Sir Leoline will provide Geraldine with the necessary means to help her return safely to her father’s home.

When Christabel and Geraldine reach Christabel’s home, Christabel asks Geraldine to sleep in Christabel’s room for the night so as to not awaken the sleeping household. Christabel especially does not wish to disturb her father, since he is very ill. When the two women cross the castle’s moat and Christabel opens her home’s iron gate, Geraldine falls as if in great pain. Christabel picks Geraldine up and carries her over the gate’s threshold. Once they are over the threshold, Geraldine rises and moves as if she is no longer in pain.

When the two women cross the hall’s court, Christabel praises the Virgin Mary for rescuing Geraldine from danger. Geraldine says that she is too weary to speak and share Christabel’s praises. After the two women cross the court, they pass by Sir Leoline’s female mastiff. The sleeping dog does not wake up, but she does angrily moan in her sleep as Christabel and Geraldine pass by. The poem’s speaker notes that the mastiff has never previously made any angry noises while in the presence of Christabel.

Summary and Analysis of "Christabel" (Part I, 1797; Part II, 1800; "The Conclusion Copyright to Part (C) II," 2011 1801) GradeSaver LLC 20 When Geraldine passes by the fireplace, a flame arises amongst the dying brands and white ashes. Christabel once again asks Geraldine to walk as softly and quietly as possible, especially as they pass by the Baron’s room before getting to Christabel’s room.

The two women finally enter Christabel’s bedroom. The poem’s speaker describes Christabel’s room as furnished with “strange and sweet” carved figures, such as a lamp fastened to an angel’s feet. Although the room is dimly lit by the moon, the carved furniture can be clearly seen. When Christabel brightens the lamp, Geraldine sinks to the floor. Christabel tells Geraldine to drink a cordial wine that Christabel’s mother made from wild flowers and which contains “virtuous powers.” Geraldine then asks if she would be pitied by Christabel’s mother. Christabel says that her mother died at Christabel’s birth. Christabel says that according to the friar, her mother said on her death bed that she would hear the castle bell strike twelve o’clock on Christabel’s wedding day. Christabel exclaims how she wishes that her mother were here now. Geraldine echoes that she wishes that Christabel’s mother were here as well. An unsettling look then appears in Geraldine’s eyes and Geraldine cries in a strange, hollow voice for Christabel’s mother to leave because this hour belongs to Geraldine. Christabel kneels by Geraldine’s side and looks up to heaven and claims that Geraldine’s kidnapping must be the cause of this strange behavior. Geraldine then wipes her brow and faintly states that the strange spell that came over her has now passed.

Geraldine drinks the wine, her eyes begin to brightly glitter, and she rises from the floor and stands upright. Geraldine says that the gods and angels love Christabel and for the sake of this love and because of the way that Christabel has taken care of her, Geraldine will try as best as she can to repay Christabel. Geraldine then says that she has to pray and that Christabel can go ahead and get undressed. Christabel undresses herself and lies down to sleep. Yet Christabel is so worried about Geraldine that she cannot sleep and instead sits up in bed and watches Geraldine praying. While praying, Geraldine suddenly shudders and undoes the belt around her waist, causing half of her body to be exposed. At first, Geraldine does not move or say anything when her dress falls. Then she opens her eyes and sees Christabel looking at her. Geraldine hurriedly and shamefully lies down in the bed next to Christabel and takes Christabel in her arms. Geraldine says that a spell is working in her and that this spell is in control of Christabel. Geraldine says that Christabel still has the power to fight against this spell because of her attempt to save Geraldine.

*Conclusion to Part I*

This is an aside by the poem’s speaker on the beauty of Christabel in prayer. The speaker remarks on how beautiful Christabel looked when she was praying by the oak tree in the woods and how she looks just as beautiful as she prays in her sleep tonight. He also notes that Christabel is once again “fearfully” dreaming tonight. The speaker also observes how calmly Geraldine sleeps as she holds Christabel in her arms. Christabel eventually awakens from her dreaming “trance” and her body and face appear to relax and she begins to smile and cry at the same time. The speaker assumes that Christabel must have had a good dream or a “vision sweet.”

*Part II*

Summary and Analysis of "Christabel" (Part I, 1797; Part II, 1800; "The Conclusion Copyright to Part (C) II," 2011 1801) GradeSaver LLC 21 Part II begins with Sir Leoline’s frequent saying that “Each matin bell…knells us back to a world of death.” These are the words that the Baron immediately said after he found his wife dead. Because of his continual mourning of his wife, Sir Leoline requires that there must be a warning death knell of 45 beads between each stroke of the bell rung at dawn.

Geraldine awakens upon hearing the dawn bell. She puts on her white clothes and awakens Christabel. Christabel awakens out of a drunken-like sleep. Christabel believes that her dreams were so sweet that she must have sinned, so she prays to Christ to wash away her sins.

Christabel then takes Geraldine to meet Sir Leoline. Sir Leoline hugs Christabel and gives a cheerful welcome to Geraldine. Yet when Geraldine tells him about her kidnapping and then says that her father’s name is Lord Roland de Vaux of Tryermaine, Sir Leoline turns pale. Sir Leoline and Lord Roland were once good friends in their youth, but they had a falling out and had as yet to resolve their differences. As Sir Leoline gazes at Geraldine, his good memories of his boyhood friendship with Lord Roland return, and Sir Leoline furiously declares to punish the warriors who wronged Geraldine.

Sir Leoline cries and takes Geraldine in his arms. Geraldine suddenly sees a frightening vision fall upon Christabel’s soul. Geraldine shrinks, shudders, and utters a hissing sound. Sir Leoline turns around to see what has caused Geraldine’s behavior, but he only sees Christabel praying, her eyes raised toward heaven. Geraldine immediately recovers and Christabel assures her father that Geraldine will be alright. Geraldine becomes embarrassed and prays in a low voice to be sent home soon to her father’s mansion. Sir Leoline charges Bracy the bard with the duty to accompany Geraldine to her home and to play his harp to signal her return. Sir Leoline also charges the bard with delivering Sir Leoline’s apology to Lord Roland to resolve their differences.

Geraldine falls to Sir Leoline’s feet and thanks him. Then Bracy the bard asks that he not leave today because of a dream he had about an ailing bird named Christabel. In his dream, Bracy followed the bird to find out what was ailing it and saw a bright green snake strangling the bird. Because of the previous night’s dream, Bracy tells Sir Leoline that he will spend the day searching the woods for something that may endanger Christabel.

Sir Leoline does not take Bracy’s warning dream seriously and assures Geraldine that he (Sir Leoline) and Lord Roland will crush any snake that is found in the woods. Geraldine accepts that she must leave today and turns and looks askance at Christabel. In this askance look, Geraldine’s eyes become serpent-like for a moment and then Geraldine returns to normal. However, Geraldine’s serpentine glance causes Christabel to go into a dizzy trance, stumble, and make a hissing sound. Geraldine immediately turns to Sir Leoline with a look of asking for forgiveness for what she has done to Christabel.

Christabel comes out of the trance and then silently prays. She falls at Sir Leoline’s feet and begs him on her mother’s soul to send Geraldine away. Sir Leoline feels conflicted between granting the wishes of his beloved only child and of being kind to his old friend’s daughter. Sir Leoline’s confusion of what to do eventually turns into rage towards his daughter for her inhospitable and dishonorable behavior towards Geraldine. Sir Leoline

Summary and Analysis of "Christabel" (Part I, 1797; Part II, 1800; "The Conclusion Copyright to Part (C) II," 2011 1801) GradeSaver LLC 22 then orders Bracy to take care of Christabel and Sir Leoline accompanies Geraldine on her way out.

*Conclusion to Part II*

This last stanza of the poem warns against the excesses of emotion.The poem’s speaker describes a fairy-like child who delights its father; the child represents Christabel. The speaker notes that the father experiences such an overflow of delight in his child that this excessive love can quickly turn into excessive bitterness and unkindness. The speaker then notes the close connection between opposing emotions, such as happiness and pain.

Analysis

“Christabel” revolves around the juxtaposition of sin/evil versus religiosity/devoutness, and sexuality versus purity. The obvious characters who represent these juxtapositions are Christabel (who represents devoutness and purity) and Geraldine (who represents sin/evil and sexuality). Christabel frequently prays throughout the poem and one of the most prominent furnishings in her bedroom is the carving of an angel. In addition, Christabel is patiently waiting for and could be seen as “saving” herself for her betrothed knight. In contrast, Geraldine claims that she does not have the strength to praise the Virgin Mary for being rescued by Christabel.

Geraldine likewise represents sin and a lack of devoutness through her serpent-like looks and her hissing noises; this behavior alludes to the snake that tempts Eve in the Garden of Eden. In addition, Geraldine has been roughly “handled” by five strange men and she often exhibits shame and a sense of impurity when she is around Christabel. Christabel’s rescuing of Geraldine can be read as a pure woman saving a fallen woman. Although Geraldine is constructed to be Christabel’s foil so that her “impurities” can enhance the sense of Christabel’s goodness and purity, Geraldine herself interestingly embodies the aforementioned juxtapositions. For instance, although Geraldine symbolizes impurity and evil, she wears a beautiful white robe that symbolizes purity. Furthermore, the scene that exemplifies Geraldine’s embodiment of these juxtaposing qualities is the one in which she is praying by Christabel’s bed. In the middle of her prayer, Geraldine is overcome by the orgasm-like gestures of her eyes rolling around, the drawing in of her breath, the shivering of her body, and her sudden unclasping of her belt to remove half of her white robe. Thus, sin and sexuality overtake devoutness and purity.

The theme of mysticism, which is prominent in one of Coleridge’s most fantastical poems “Kubla Khan,” is also prominent in Christabel. Geraldine is overtaken by a mysterious spell several times during the poem, and near the end of the poem, she somehow transfers the effects of the spell to Christabel. Once Christabel physically recovers from the spell, she still seems transformed. Christabel’s kindness and consideration for Geraldine have disappeared and she begs her father to cast Geraldine out of their home. Christabel goes from selfless to selfish. The ways in which the spells taint Geraldine and Christabel suggest the destructive powers of mysticism.

In the essay “Coleridge’s ‘Christabel’ and the Phantom Soul,” Anya Taylor claims that the poem is “part of Coleridge’s life-long meditation on the vulnerabilities of will and agency” (708). The two young female

Summary and Analysis of "Christabel" (Part I, 1797; Part II, 1800; "The Conclusion Copyright to Part (C) II," 2011 1801) GradeSaver LLC 23 characters in “Christabel” are certainly vulnerable to the overwhelming powers of the supernatural world.

The theme of the power of nature, which is present in much of Coleridge’s work, also appears in “Christabel.” For example, Sir Leoline’s mastiff immediately senses the evil and danger that Geraldine brings. The mastiff howls when she senses that Christabel is near Geraldine in the woods; the dog angrily moans when Geraldine passes by in Sir Leoline’s home. The animal’s “sixth sense” suggests the power of the natural world.

Summary and Analysis of "Christabel" (Part I, 1797; Part II, 1800; "The Conclusion Copyright to Part (C) II," 2011 1801) GradeSaver LLC 24 Summary and Analysis of "Kubla Khan" (1798)

Summary

The unnamed speaker of the poem tells of how a man named Kubla Khan traveled to the land of Xanadu. In Xanadu, Kubla found a fascinating pleasure-dome that was “a miracle of rare device” because the dome was made of caves of ice and located in a sunny area. The speaker describes the contrasting composition of Xanadu. While there are gardens blossoming with incense-bearing trees and “sunny spots of greenery,” across the “deep romantic chasm” in Xanadu there are “caverns measureless to man” and a fountain from which “huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail.” Amid this hostile atmosphere of Nature, Kubla also hears “ancestral voices prophesying war.” However, Kubla finds relief from this tumultuous atmosphere through his discovery of the miraculous sunny pleasure-dome made of ice.

In the last stanza of the poem, the narrator longs to revive a song about Mount Abora that he once heard a woman play on a dulcimer. The speaker believes that the song would transport him to a dream world in which he could “build that dome in air” and in which he can drink “the milk of Paradise.”

Analysis

A recurring motif throughout Coleridge’s poetry is the power of dreams and of the imagination, such as in “Frost at Midnight,” “Dejection: An Ode,” and “Christabel.” In “Discovery and the Domestic Affections in Coleridge and Shelley,” Michelle Levy explains that Coleridge’s “fascination with the unknown reflects a larger cultural obsession of the Romantic period” (694).

Perhaps the most fantastical world created by Coleridge lies in “Kubla Khan.” The legendary story behind the poem is that Coleridge wrote the poem following an opium-influenced dream. In this particular poem, Coleridge seems to explore the depths of dreams and creates landscapes that could not exist in reality. The “sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice” exemplifies the extreme fantasy of the world in which Kubla Khan lives.

Similar to several of Coleridge’s other poems, the speaker’s admiration of the wonders of nature is present in “Kubla Khan.” Yet what is striking and somewhat different about the portrayal of nature in this particular poem is the depiction of the dangerous and threatening aspects of nature. For example, consider the following passage:

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!

A savage place! as holy and enchanted

By woman wailing for her demon-lover!

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,

A mighty fountain momently was forced:

Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst

Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,

Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:

And ‘mid these dancing rocks at once and ever

It flung up momently the sacred river (lines 12-24)

In “Secret(ing) Conversations: Coleridge and Wordsworth,” Bruce Lawder highlights the significance of Coleridge’s use of a feminine rhyme scheme in the above stanza, in which the last two syllables of the lines rhyme (such as “seething” and “breathing”). Lawder notes that “the male force of the ‘sacred river’ literally interrupts, and puts an end to, the seven successive feminine endings that begin the second verse paragraph” (80). This juxtaposition of female forces versus male forces parallels the juxtaposition of Coleridge’s typical pleasant descriptions of nature versus this poem’s unpleasant descriptions. In most of Coleridge’s works, nature represents a nurturing presence. However, in “Kubla Khan,” nature is characterized by a rough, dangerous terrain that can only be tamed by a male explorer such as Kubla Khan.

The last stanza of the poem was added later, and is not a direct product of Coleridge's opium-dream. In it the speaker longs to re-create the pleasured-dome of Kubla Khan "in air," perhaps either in poetry, or in a way surpassing the miraculous work of Kubla Khan himself. The speaker's identity melds with that of Kubla Khan, as he envisions himself being spoken of by everyone around, warning one another to "Beware! Beware!/His flashing eyes, his floating hair!" Kubla Khan/the speaker becomes a figure of superstition, around whom those who would remain safe should "Weave a circle[...] thrice" to ward off his power. Coleridge conflates the near-mythic figure of Kubla Khan manipulating the natural world physically, with the figure of the poet manipulating the world "in air" through the power of his words. In either case, the creative figure becomes a source of awe, wonder, and terror combined.

Summary

The unnamed speaker of this sonnet returns to a brook near his rural birthplace and reflects on the “sweet scenes of childhood.” Coleridge claims that he has never forgotten the intricacies of the brook and that as an adult, he can still clearly picture the brook in his mind. Coleridge further says that recalling such fond childhood memories of his rural home only make him long more for those years of carefree innocence.

Analysis

In “Sonnet: To the River Otter,” Coleridge explores the most familiar themes in his poetry: the adult’s longing for childhood innocence; the connection between pastoral life and happiness, particularly childhood happiness; and the power of the imagination. In the sonnet, the speaker’s imagination transports him back to his beloved childhood memories and restores his intimacy with nature.

The words "Dear native brook!" (line 1) indicate that the speaker is remembering a stream near his childhood home, placing the poetic memory squarely in the halcyon days of youth from the outset. Although "many various-fated years have past" since he has been near this brook, the speaker still remembers it clearly and with fondness. He longs for the time he used to skip "the smooth stone along thy breast" (line 4), connecting the brook to the feminine form of nature which he sees as both nurturing and alluring. He echoes this sense of enchantment in lines 12-13, wherein the visions of childhood the brook offers "oft have...beguiled/Lone manhood's cares." While not necessarily a strong sexual image, Coleridge still leaves the hint of sexual duality in the male speaker and the female brook; he also goes another direction, invoking the nurturing spirit of Nature as mother (although the act of the child skipping stones across the brook's "breast" seems to indicate that, to the child at least, the femininity of nature is neither sexual nor maternal, but simply there).

The visions of the speaker's childhood are"so deep imprest" (line 5) that he cannot close his eyes without vividly replaying a scene from his youth near the brook within his mind's eye (lines 8-11). What stands out to him are the colors associated with the brook: the "tints" of the water (line 8), the grey willows along the side of the brook (line 9), and the "various dyes" of the sediments that have collected along the stream bed (line 10). It is the color of childhood that Coleridge wants to recall, but in all that the only color he actually names, grey, is the color of old age and melancholy. He realizes that the act of longing for one's childhood is in itself tinged with despair, for to long for youth is to admit that one no longer possesses it.

It is important to note that the speaker finds pleasure in the constancy of the features of the brook. The speaker’s admiration of this constancy could reflect his own desire that human life could possess such a constancy. During

Summary and Analysis of "Sonnet: To the River Otter" (1793) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 27 a person’s lifetime, he or she grows from being “a careless child” into dealing with “many various-fated years” as an adult.

Summary

In this conversation poem, Coleridge is the speaker and the two people he addresses, and who are the silent listeners of the poem, are William Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth. Dorothy was William’s sister, but in the poem, Coleridge refers to Dorothy as his sister as well. Coleridge, William and Dorothy have gone to sit by a stream on a mossy bridge at nighttime. The three are simply observing the beauty of nature at night and Coleridge brings their attention to the singing of a nightingale. Coleridge explains to his two companions how the nightingale came to be known as a melancholy bird. He supposes that a broken-hearted man wandered through the woods one night and upon hearing the bird’s song, the man projected his own emotions upon Nature and the nightingale and “made all gentle sounds tell back the tale/ Of his own sorrow.” Coleridge remarks on the absurdity of calling anything in nature melancholy. Likewise, he expresses his disdain for how “many a poet echoes the conceit” of making nature representative of dark human emotions in poetry. Coleridge claims that if such poets took the time to observe and absorb the beauty of their natural surroundings, then they would create poems that reflect nature’s loveliness. However, Coleridge doubts that most poets will ever have such an experience, since most young men and women entertain themselves indoors on the most beautiful nights. In contrast to the majority of young people, Coleridge tells William and Dorothy that they three have a true appreciation for nature and they “may not thus profane/ Nature’s sweet voices, always full of love/ And joyance!” Likewise, Coleridge and his companions can interpret the Nightingale’s song as joyous and not as melancholy.

Coleridge then describes to his two companions a grove by an abandoned castle in which a large number of nightingales flock at night. He vividly describes the joyous sounds of the birds’ songs, such as “murmurs musical” and an onomatopoeic “swift jug jug” that resembles the actual sounds the birds make. According to Coleridge, the sounds of the nightingales in this grove are so beautiful that if a person were to close his eyes, he would feel that he is dreaming. Coleridge notes that he is not the only person who listens to the beauty of these nightingales’ songs. He has seen a young woman who lives near the castle come to the grove to watch and listen to the birds as well.

Finally, Coleridge tells his friends that they “have been loitering long and pleasantly” and that it is time to head home and to say farewell to each other and the nightingale. Before the companions part, Coleridge remarks how much his infant son would love the nightingale’s song. Coleridge explains how he has instilled a love for nature in his son and that he “[deems] it wise/ To make him Nature’s play-mate.” He claims on a night when his son had trouble sleeping, the infant calmed down after gazing at the moon. Coleridge wishes for his son to grow to love the nightingale’s song, so “that with the night/ He may associate joy” and not believe the common association between nature and melancholy.

Analysis

Summary and Analysis of "The Nightingale" (1798) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 29 One of the most important elements of “The Nightingale” is Coleridge’s conveyance of his friendships with William and Dorothy Wordsworth. For instance, in “Coleridge the Revisionary: Surrogacy and Structure in the Conversation Poems,” Peter Barry notes how Coleridge uses the lord of the abandoned castle, the maiden who listens to the nightingales and the nightingales themselves as metaphorical representations of the poet’s personal and literary relationships with the Wordsworths: “The great Lord and the gentle Maid are clearly in some sense avatars of William and Dorothy, and the nightingales which ‘answer and provoke each other’s song’ are Coleridge and Wordsworth, often writing for each other, working on common themes, sending each other poem’s for comment” (614).

The theme of man and nature as separate entities in “The Nightingale” mirrors the speaker’s sentiments in “Dejection: An Ode.” In “The Nightingale,” Coleridge expresses disdain for the poets who project their own feelings onto Nature. If humans are responsible for their own souls and emotions - as is held in “Dejection” - and we can’t hold nature responsible for creating our happiness, then by the same token we shouldn’t expect nature to have to possess our sadness as well.

Similar to “Frost at Midnight,” Coleridge once again expresses his desire to instill a love for nature in his young son. According to Timothy P. Enright in “Sing, Mariner: Identity and Temporality in Coleridge’s ‘The Nightingale,’” the poet “peremptorily decides to equate his son with nature because that would not only elide the issue of imitation, but render both him and his son unlike the ‘wandering Man’…who roam[s] apart, allied to something out if nature” (498). Coleridge could also have such a determination to teach his son to love nature because the poet associates the innocence and happiness of childhood with the beauty and innocence of nature. In other words, because Coleridge considers the unhappy parts of his latter boyhood and his young adulthood to be the period in which he was confined to the city and longed for the countryside, the poet thinks that a child can only be happy if he is surrounded by the beauty of nature.

This contrast between Natural joy and urban sorrow is addressed in the title-bird of the poem. The speaker quotes another's view that the nightingale is a "most musical, most melancholy bird" but then immediately declares this an "idle thought!" To him, "In nature there is nothing melancholy." In fact, the nightingale's song should make all Nature lovelier, and itself/Be loved like Nature!" However, the speaker realizes that in the popular conception of the bird, this will not happen; since "youths and maidens most poetical" insist on finding their delight in the "ball-rooms and hot theaters" of the city, the nightingale's song will seldom be heard. When it is heard, it will be a reminder that the night draws to a close and therefore be a sign of sorrow to the young people, rather than the harbinger of Nature that it is meant to be.

Coleridge/the speaker rejoices, however that his friend (William Wordsworth) and that friend's sister (Dorothy Wordsworth) have "learned a different lore." They will not be fooled into adopting the attitudes of others, but will instead appreciate the nightingale and all of Nature as it should be properly appreciated. To this end he directs their thoughts (if not their steps) to a "grove/Of a large extent, hard by a castle huge," invoking both Nature and a longing for the past at the same time. Of that ancient place, the speaker remarks that "never elsewhere in one place I knew/So many nightingales." Rather than bow to the melancholy perspective on the

Summary and Analysis of "The Nightingale" (1798) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 30 single nightingale's song, Coleridge insists the trio surround themselves with a multitude of nightingales in order to get the full effect of their joyful warbling.

Coleridge ends by bidding farewell both to the nightingale ("O warbler!") and to the Wordsworths ("And you, my friends!"), juxtaposing the two as he would juxtapose all of mankind and Nature. He returns home to his "dear babe," whom he reflects (as in "Frost at Midnight") will hopefully have a greater appreciation for Nature than even his father does. He intends to imbue in his son a love of all things natural, to "make him Nature's playmate" so that he will be a more whole human being, much more conscious of the beauty around him than those aforementioned youths whose only beauty is in one another's eyes.

Summary

*Part I*

The preface to the poem is an excerpt concerning the Moon’s ominous foreshadowing of a deadly storm in the “Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence.” Coleridge remarks that if the Bard is accurate about the weather, then this currently tranquil night will soon turn into a storm; Coleridge sees the new moon holding the old moon in her lap, an identical scene to the moon image in the prologue. He wishes for a storm to occur, because he needs something to stir his emotions and “startle this dull pain.”

*Part II*

Coleridge’s invocation of “Lady” suggests that his pain is the result of a broken heart and signals that this poem is a conversation with this Lady (who represents Sara Hutchinson). In his grief, Coleridge says that he has been endlessly gazing at the skies and the stars. He claims that he is so overwhelmed with sadness that he can only see and can no longer feel or internalize the beauty of nature.

*Part III*

Coleridge doubts that anything can “lift the smothering weight from off my breast.” He admits that gazing at the beauty of the skies is a vain and futile effort to ease his pain. He realizes that “outward forms” will not relieve him of his inner pain and that only he has the power to change his emotional state.

*Part IV*

Coleridge once again addresses his Lady, telling her that although some things are inevitable in life and controlled by nature, a person must still be an active agent in creating his or her own happiness.

*Part V*

Coleridge describes the characteristics of the feeling of Joy to his Lady. He extols the powers of Joy, which can create beauty as well as create a “new Earth and new Heaven.”

*Part VI*

Coleridge reflects on a time when joy was able to surmount his distress. During that time, he was able to take advantage of the hope (that was not his own internal hope) that surrounded him in nature. However, the distress

Summary and Analysis of "Dejection: An Ode" (1802) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 32 he feels now is much more dominating. He no longer even cares that all his happiness is gone. However, he does lament how each small “visitation” of sadness robs him of his power of Imagination. Since Coleridge cannot feel any emotion other than sadness, his imagination would have at least allowed him to “steal” the happiness that surrounded him in nature and thus pretend that he possesses joy.

*Part VII*

Coleridge now turns his attention to the tumultuous weather. Within this raging storm, he is able to hear the less frightful sounds of a child looking for her mother.

*Part VIII*

Although it is now midnight, Coleridge has no intention of going to sleep. However, he wishes for “Sleep” to visit his Lady and to use its healing powers to lift the Lady’s spirits and bring her joy. Coleridge concludes the poem by wishing the Lady eternal joy.

Analysis

One of Coleridge's more personal and autobiographical poems, "Dejection" was originally a "verse letter" to Sara Hutchinson, a woman with whom Coleridge was desperately in love. Hutchinson is not mentioned directly, however, perhaps because at the time of the poem's publication Coleridge was (unhappily) married to Sara Fricker. Coleridge was inspired to write it upon hearing the opening lines of Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality." In his own poem, Coleridge echoes Wordsworth's themes of disillusionment in love and the loss of imaginative powers.

In "Dejection: An Ode," Coleridge also reinvents poetic traditions. His opening quotation is from the "Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence," yet his poem is given the title of an ode. The ode dates back to classical times as a serious poem concerning itself with a highly-regarded subject, accompanied by a strong attention to details of time and place; the English ballad tradition, on the other hand, was about intense action and emotion. Coleridge blends these two literary traditions into the triumph that is "Dejection: An Ode." He keeps the general form of the ode, modified from the classical Pindaran ode of 500 BC to the 17th century form of three-part stanzas structured in turn, counter-turn, and stand. The modification does not end there, however, as Coleridge uses irregular lines to make the poem somewhat informal in sound, harking to the ballads of days gone by. That the poem is (at least in part) dedicated to a "Lady" rather than a somber meditation upon a public occasion also divorces it from the ode tradition and places it closer to the English ballad in sensibility.

The motif of the power of nature, which runs throughout much of Coleridge’s work, is a major theme in “Dejection.” In the first stanza of “Dejection,” Coleridge hopes that the Bard in the preface is correct about the moon’s foreshadowing of the weather because Coleridge hopes that a storm can revive him from his paralyzed emotional state. He reflects that in the past, he was able to use his imagination to translate the beauty of the

Summary and Analysis of "Dejection: An Ode" (1802) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 33 surrounding nature into his own happiness, even when he suffered from sadness. However, Coleridge now acknowledges that the futility of his current wish to rely on nature to change his emotions. Although Coleridge greatly admires and desires to feel as one with nature (see Coleridge’s lamentation of his upbringing in the city and his longing to be in a more natural landscape in “Frost at Midnight”), he realizes that nature and humans are separate and distinct entities.

In “New Moons, Old Ballads, and Prophetic Dialogues in Coleridge’s ‘Dejection: An Ode,” R.A. Benthall states that “the dramatic arc of ‘Dejection’ in large part dramatizes an attempt to see clearly how verbal and phenomenal worlds relate, collide, or whether they interact at all” (613). The conclusion that Coleridge reaches in this poem is that it is the responsibility of humans, not of the surrounding nature, to create and sustain their own internal happiness. However, as the poet-creator of the work, Coleridge is able to move between these two states (nature and the inner life) with ease, suggesting that the two may not be in a cause and effect relationship, but they are indeed equally accessible to the imaginative soul.

The power of imagination/dreams, another recurring motif in Coleridge’s work, is also prominent in “Dejection.” The one thing that Coleridge particularly misses is his power of imagination and the ability to pretend that he is happy. Interestingly, Benthall highlights “the irony implicit in the fact that Coleridge should write a poem about the inability to create” (613). Coleridge’s mention of the healing powers of sleep in the last stanza and his claim that he will not go to sleep tonight (and most likely cannot because of his depression) both suggest that dreams offer a portal to happiness. This implication could be the reason why Coleridge wishes for his beloved Lady to have a peaceful night of sleep.

Summary

In this conversation poem, Coleridge is the speaker and the silent listener is his infant son, Hartley Coleridge. The setting of the poem is late at night, when Coleridge is the only one awake in the household. Coleridge sits next to his son’s cradle and reflects on the frost falling outside his home. He takes this instance of solitude to allow his reflections to expand to his love of nature.

Coleridge describes to his son how his love of nature dates back to his boyhood. During school, Coleridge would gaze out the schoolhouse windows and admire the frost falling outside and would daydream about leaving the city and returning to his rural birthplace. Coleridge tells his son that he is delighted that his son will have more opportunities to observe the beauty of nature and will not be “reared/ In the great city, pent ‘mid cloisters dim” as Coleridge himself was. Coleridge then wishes that “all seasons shall be sweet” to his son and that his son will learn to appreciate all aspects of nature.

Analysis

In “Frost at Midnight,” Coleridge explores the relationship between environment and happiness and also reflects on the idyllic innocence of childhood. The construction of this poem, in which Coleridge’s infant son is the silent listener, is significant for Coleridge’s musings on the above themes. In “Coleridge the Revisionary: Surrogacy and Structure in the Conversation Poems,” Peter Barry highlights the “surrogacy” element that is present in many of Coleridge’s conversation poems. Barry defines surrogacy as “the core of the central meditative episode” that is “a transaction between the speaking persona and a surrogate self, that is, another person onto whom are projected or disposed key elements of the speaker’s own personality, dilemmas, or thought processes” (602). In “Frost at Midnight,” the infant Hartley serves as Coleridge’s surrogate. After Coleridge shares his lamentations on his physical and emotional confinement in urban England during the latter part of his childhood, Coleridge declares (and rejoices in the fact) that Hartley will be brought up in a more pastoral life and will be closer to nature than his father was. Thus, Coleridge projects on his son his own longing for childhood innocence and his belief that closeness to nature brings happiness.

The familiar motifs of the power of sleep, dreams, and imagination are also present in “Frost at Midnight.” The image that connects these themes is the “thin blue flame” in the fireplace. In “Coleridge and the Scene of Lyric Description,” Christopher R. Miller identifies the “flickering of [the] ember” as a “[counterpoint to] Coleridge’s own insomniac musings” (521). Likewise, Peter Barry asserts that the dying flame is representative of Coleridge’s reproof of the “directionlessness in his thinking” (620). Barry further clarifies Coleridge’s use of the dying flame as a metaphor for his “idling Spirit”: “like the flame, his own intellectual spirit is puny, unable to achieve lift-off, purposeless, narcissistic, and prone to interpret everything as a reflection of itself, so that thought becomes an idle plaything rather than a purposeful instrument” (610). Ultimately, in the first stanza of

Summary and Analysis of "Frost at Midnight" (1798) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 35 the poem, Coleridge laments that his insomnia stifles his imagination. Perhaps this is why Coleridge takes pleasure in watching his son sleep, for the poet understands that dreams allow for the flourishing of creativity.

Coleridge begins by creating a tone of solemn gentleness in the first line, as the frost is described as performing a "secret ministry." The frost ministers without the help of the wind (line 2), thus taking the bite out of the chilly night air and maintaining a silence throughout the landscape. The only sound is the owl of lines 2-3, but its sudden interruption of the quiet is counterpoised with the sleepers in the cottage whose rest remains undisturbed. The speaker enjoys this midnight solitude, although he notes that he is not truly alone: his "cradled infant slumbers peacefully" beside him (line 7), The baby's presence serves only to accentuate his solitude since this child, too, sleeps while the speaker alone is awake at this late hour. He finds the absolute stillness disturbing at first, taking comfort in the seeming sympathy of the only stirring object in the house or beyond--a flim across the grate is the "sole unquiet thing" (line 16) and the speaker sees a similarity between himself and the "puny flaps and freaks" of the grate (line 20). Just as the insensible film "interprets" the moving of air without a guiding reason, so too does the speaker "makes a toy of Thought" (line 23).

By shifting the scene of the second stanza to his boyhood and summer time, Coleridge manages to create a sense of this inner discomfort that the speaker feels in his midnight vigil in the cottage. The boyhood speaker is also looking out a window, discontent with where he sits (inside a schoolroom, attempting to study) and longs for the wild familiarity of nature. Although he attempts a "mock study" of his "swimming book" (line 38) when the stern preceptor draws near, nonetheless he finds his thought already out the half-open door he spies out of the corner of his eye. He seeks a "stranger" (lines 26 and 41) which he sees "fluttering" out the window--perhaps a butterfly or bird which comes to his memory as he sits--as an adult--within his winter cottage listening to the rustling flap on the grate. He finds this stranger desirable, "more beloved" than townsman, aunt, or sister to his eyes (line 42). This spirit of nature is in fact his "play-mate" when they are "clothed alike" (both outside enjoying the pervasive presence of nature).

The speaker's thoughts return to the present, specifically to his sleeping baby. The sounds he hears are now the breathing of the child, which fills the moments between his somber thoughts. He is moved to wonder at the baby's beauty, and turns his mind to the "far other lore/and in far other scenes" which the child will one day learn. He notes his own limited upbringing--kept as he was in "the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim" (line 52) where the only natural beauty he could ever see was the sky and stars. This baby, on the other hand, will wander the mountains and fields, gaining an education only Nature in all its glory can bestow. The child will learn "that eternal language, which thy God/Utters" (lines 60-61); in other words, he will learn the spirit of Nature and see in it the wonder, majesty, and beauty of its Creator.

The speaker declares that an education gained in the realms of nature will make all seasons "sweet to thee," giving the baby a perspective on life that the speaker cannot fully hold because of his own limited exposure to nature in its various forms. While the father has difficulty settling in to the silent solitude of a frosty midnight, and similarly could not focus on his studies indoors while summer spent itself without, the son will have no difficulty embracing nature in her various dresses, because he will be more connected to the natural order than

Summary and Analysis of "Frost at Midnight" (1798) Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 37 Related Links http://www.online-literature.com/coleridge/ The Literature Network: Samuel Taylor Coleridge Biography and searchable works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. http://www.friendsofcoleridge.com/ The Friends of Coleridge British-based society for the appreciation and preservation of Coleridge's works.

How does Coleridge offer a contrast between Geraldine and the title character in "Christabel"?

While both women are young and seemingly innocent, Geraldine hides her inner evil under the "white garment" of purity. Christabel is truly pure, but her innocence and generosity place her in danger from Geraldine's lascivious darkness. Only when Christabel prays is she able to temporarily break the spell of silence and warn her father against Geraldine--but it is too late, as Geraldine has replaced Christabel in her father's affections already.

To what do Coleridge's meditations turn in "Frost at Midnight"?

Struck at first by the absolute stillness of the snowy night, Coleridge reflects upon his youth during a sunnier season, when he longed to leave the schoolroom and play outdoors. His thoughts are drawn to the baby resting next to him, however, and he begins a meditation and a prayer that his son will grow up to love all seasons and to learn from them equally. Coleridge draws a contrast between his own urban upbringing and his son's future rural (and hopefully more enriching) upbringing.

How is the theme of longing for innocence developed in "Sonnet: To the River Otter"?

The speaker in this sonnet is driven to "Visions of childhood" which "beguiled/Lone manhood's cares." As an adult, he looks back upon his memories of the brook--a vividly described childhood memory imprinted firmly in his mind--as a form of imaginary transport to a better time. The years between his youth and his present state are described as "mournful," suggesting that his time of innocence was better, and definitely happier, than his journey to adulthood. He recalls the "Sweet scenes of childhood" with a yearning for better and simpler days.

What reflections on poetry does Coleridge offer in "The Nightingale"?

Coleridge calls poets to task for using the cliched description of the nightingale as a "melancholy " bird. He suggests that this image was superimposed on the nightingale's song by some solitary, unhappy wanderer, and has been used since by unthinking poets. He chides young poets for spending most of their time in "ball-rooms and hot theatres" rather than outdoors, where they can better appreciate the beauty of nature. He calls poets to proclaim the beauty of Nature, thus elevating their own poetry while raising awareness of Natures' virtues. To Coleridge, nothing in Nature is melancholy, and by taking part in Nature's good qualities poets may "share in Nature's immortality."

What place does Coleridge's own son have in his poetry?

Suggested Essay Questions Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 39 Coleridge often mentions his son Hartley in his poetry, usually in connection with an appreciation of Nature. In "Frost at Midnight" he speaks of the infant lying next to him, his only companion on a preternaturally silent winter night. He sees his own love of nature as stunted by his upbringing in the city, and hopes for a more fully-developed love of nature in his son, whom he is raising in the countryside. Whereas Coleridge finds the beautiful winter night turning his heart toward well-remembered summer days, he hopes his son will find each season beautiful in its own right.

The last stanza of "The Nightingale" also turns to Coleridge's son. His reflections on the nightingale's beauty leads him to suspect that his son, in whom he is instilling a love for nature, would thoroughly enjoy this song. As proof, he recalls a time when the infant was awakened with a fright and cried, but was calmed by the sight of the moon.

How does Coleridge use night as a recurring motif in his poetry?

Nighttime is a time of solitude and contemplation in Coleridge's works. In "Frost at Midnight" it is the stillness of night, when no one else is awake, that allows him time to reflect on his own past and his son's future. In "Dejection: An Ode," it is nighttime when the speaker tries--and fails--to find solace in nature. "The Nightingale" sings at night, and it is this song which leads the speaker's musings to the beauty of the moon and the importance of being outdoors at night. Even the evil Geraldine, found at night in "Christabel," does not change the fact that Christabel first went outside at night in order to pray for her absent fiancé. Nighttime is the time of inner stillness and, contrary to many presentations as evil and dangerous by other poets, is a time of peace and tranquility in Coleridge's works.

What is the development of the speaker's emotional state in "Dejection: An Ode"?

The speaker begins the poem anxious at the possibility of a coming storm. Seeing in this natural phenomenon an echo of his own soul's distress, he turns to nature for solace. Unfortunately, the speaker's grief has made him so numb that he can no longer connect to nature to draw comfort from it. He is frustrated at this turn of events until he realizes that Nature cannot give him anything that does not originate within his own soul. Once he concludes that human beings must take active part in their own emotional experiences, he turns his heart to the Joy he derives from his imagination. Although still unhappy over his lost love at the end of the poem, the speaker has come to a place where he thinks beyond himself and asks personified Sleep to visit his beloved to bring her that same joy he feels.

How do Coleridge's poems reflect the ideals of the Romanticism?

Along with William Wordsworth, Coleridge ushered in the Romantic age in England with his published poetry and literary criticism. Coleridge believed that poetry should be written in everyday language (although he harked back to archaic romances in both "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Christabel") and wrote much of his poetry in a conversational tone. Coleridge also eschewed rigid rhyme scheme and formalism, while still

Suggested Essay Questions Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 40 availing himself of the popular poetic forms such as the sonnet and the ode. Coleridge also focused heavily on nature as a source of inspiration and beauty, a focus that would become one of the central tenets of Romantic thought.

What dreamlike qualities are found in "Kubla Khan"?

"Kubla Khan" is set in mythical Xanadu, where runs a sacred (and nonexistent) river named the Alph. This river flows to a "sunless sea" and nearby is a "romantic chasm" which may be haunted by a "woman wailing for her demon-lover." From this chasm issues a geyser spewing forth either rocks or hailstones, which dance in the spray. Within this pleasure dome, under the sunny sky and beneath the greenery, are caves of ice. Taken together, these images seem contradictory, but as individual elements in the dreamscape of Xanadu, they fit into a phantasmagoric panorama of the supernatural and natural combined.

How may "Christabel" be read as an exploration of a father's changing affections?

Christabel is alone in her father's favor, his only and most beloved daughter. Once she brings home Geraldine, these things change. Beholding the beauty of Geraldine, Sir Leoline is immediately convinced to mend his broken relationship with Lord Roland; he does this for no other reason than to gain Geraldine's approval. When Christobel momentarily breaks Geraldine's spell of silence and begs her father to send Geraldine away, Sir Leoline treats his daughter like a traitor to both friendship and etiquette. Geraldine has begun to replace Christabel in Sir Leoline's affections, much as a step-mother replaces the dead mother in many fairy tales. Since the poem is unfinished, the reader is left with a conclusion bemoaning Christabel's sad plight as a child scorned by her father.

Besides being a supreme poet in his own right, Coleridge is also well-known for ushering in the Romantic age of poetry in England. Along with his friend William Wordsworth, Coleridge wrote and published Lyrical Ballads, a work that not only contained many of the two poets' poetic works, but also included essays on the nature and craft of poetry. When creating or reading poetry, Coleridge called for "That willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." By this he meant that the reader will accept the poem on its own terms, temporarily giving over to the author's vision of the world long enough to appreciate the work.

A fine example of this is Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", in which the reader (along with the targeted Wedding Guest of the poem) must accept the Ancient Mariner's tale at face value and assume the old man is telling the truth about his experiences. Coleridge builds this "willing suspension of disbelief" by beginning the Mariner's tale in familiar territory--a ship exploring the frozen wastes of the ocean--and slowly but inexorably drawing the reader into the Mariner's more supernatural encounters.

"Christabel" follows the same pattern, beginning with the allegedly violated woman being rescued by the title character, but eventually giving way to the so-called victim's malignant supernatural identity. A similar "suspension of disbelief" occurs in modern literary genres such as "magical realism" and horror, where the supernatural or unbelievable elements are framed in mundane terms and possess their own internal logic.

Todd Gordon, author of ClassicNote. Completed on January 21, 2011, copyright held by GradeSaver.

Updated and revised Elizabeth Weinbloom May 31, 2011. Copyright held by GradeSaver.

Mary Ellen Snodgrass. "Christabel." Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature. 2005-05-13. 2010-11-07. .

Harold Bloom. "Christabel." Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 2001-06-04. 2010-11-07. .

Harold Bloom. ""Dejection: An Ode"." Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 2001-06-03. 2010-11-07. .

Barry, Peter. "Coleridge the Revisionary: Surrogacy and Structure in the Conversation Poems." The Review of English Studies Nov. 2000: 600-616. Print.

Benthall, R.A. "New Moons, Old Ballads, and Prophetic Dialogues in Coleridge's 'Dejection: An Ode'." Studies in Romanticism Winter 1998: 591-614. Print.

Enright, Timothy P."Sing, Mariner: Identity and Temporality in Coleridge's 'The Nightingale'." Studies in Romanticism Fall 1994: 481-501. Print.

Lawder, Bruce. "Secret(ing) Conversations: Coleridge and Wordsworth." New Literary History Winter 2001: 67-89. Print.

Levy, Michelle. "Discovery and the Domestic Affections in Coleridge and Shelley." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Autumn 2004: 693-713. Print.

Miller, Christopher R. "Coleridge and the Scene of Lyric Description." The Journal of English and Germanic Philology Oct. 2002: 520-539. Print.

Taylor, Anya. "Coleridge's 'Christabel' and the Phantom Soul."

Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Autumn 2002: 707-730. Print.

With "The Visionary Hope," Samuel Taylor Coleridge romanticizes the overpowering state of yearning without excluding the turmoil it causes in human life. Coleridge develops for the reader an almost picturesque cluster of emotional impulses and handicaps far from abstract, and obscure only in the question of their true source. The reader of "The Visionary Hope" must decide if the individual significance of that vision roots itself in the naive hope of an end, or if, in actuality, the fantasy remains for fantasy's sake. While presenting two sides of an argument concerning the validity of human aspiration, the author finds hope itself to be the one and only necessary lifeblood for the spiritually thirsty soul. At the same time, however, Coleridge's fantastic surrender to the power of a single hope at the close of the poem provides a subtle solicitation of self-examination; the reader must ask discover whether the value of an ungraspable prospect lies in the glimmering possibility of it being met, or merely in its capacity to foster a cleansing outpouring of lustrous emotion and feeling.

At the onset, Coleridge makes clear what will be the outcome of his poetic debate between reason and emotion. Opening with "Sad lot, to have no hope!" (Line 1), the author proclaims the reigning source of living valor to be hope, however "visionary" it may actually prove to be. To Coleridge, he who "fain would frame a prayer within his breast" (2) lives a brave existence in submission to blind faith. While acknowledging the sheer lowliness of his "kneeling" (1) to an unrealistic desire, the speaker, fighting for relief, simultaneously understands his own ignorance while experiencing surreal solidarity with his spiritual psyche: "Would fain entreat for some sweet breath of healing, /That his sick body might have ease and rest; / He strove in vain!" (3-5) Supporting Coleridge's stark contrast between emotional magnificence and its subsequent all-consuming strife, his character acts in "fain" entreaty to the powers that be. In full realization of his powerlessness to the hope that limits, and yet, propels him through life, he continuously puts conscious effort into developing that unfulfilled desire which now has become more real than concrete reality. Ironically, what is to the rational person a meaningless pursuit driven by fleeting emotions is for the speaker no less than the veritable meaning of his life.

Despite that the object of the speaker's desire provides his life's guiding force, the poem's character does submit to pain's disarmament, in all human actuality: "The dull sighs from his chest /Against his will the stifling load revealing"(5-6). While the speaker's indulgence in his imaginative project fills his heart with purpose, Coleridge suggests the existing counterbalance of a deliberate cry for relief from worry. Here the author fully examines the weight of reason in a life of distortion; although the power of the hope itself undermines the speaker's rational ability to see completely through it, his earthly will nonetheless desires escape from pain as much as the achievement of his vision. However, where Coleridge equalizes the status of reality and fantasy, he distinctly places them in separate psychological poles. The speaker's cries reveal the "stifling load" of his unattainable prospect, "though Nature forced" (7), and no escape is possible. Coleridge's capitalization of "Nature" along with more abstract concepts of "Hope" (17, 20, 27) and "Love" (20) in later lines set the stage for both nature's

Essay: Lifeblood Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 44 physical power and its connection to the psychological nature of the soul. Not only does this hope represent a larger entity of intangible human affections, but its power, indeed, surpasses a human's effort to be realistic: "Some royal prisoner at his conqueror's feast, / An alien's restless mood but half concealing" (8-9). The speaker, in this instance, does not yet choose to live by the hope, but falls at its foot, powerless; alien to his own strife, his attempts to stamp out an unreasonable aspiration fall captive to the vision's tyrannical existence.

"The Visionary Hope" unveils, by and large, Coleridge's laser-beam sense of clarity regarding reason's distortion in the midst of an all-powerful pining. The speaker's expected grief as he withers away in the impossibility of meeting his hope moves him to take one last grasp at base reality, "The sternness on his gentle brow confessed" (10). Fairly quickly, Coleridge's poem, and thus, the convoluted rationality of the speaker, take a sharp turn away from reality and into feelings whose roots are now indefinable. Sickness and misery, tangible evidence of his fantasy's harm on him, become no more than "obscure pangs" (12) that "made curses of his dreams" (12). Significantly, the world of dreams suggests sleep, submission, and surrender. Although Coleridge's speaker mindfully dreads that world of sleep, he fails to deny it: "each night repelled in vain, / Each night was scattered by its own loud screams" (13-14). Sucked in by the muscle of his longing, not even his earnest desire to turn from it can falter the journey into obscurity.

Thus, Coleridge envelops the reader into the command of the speaker's heart. No more is the speaker tormented by "obscure pangs" (12), but acknowledges his foregoing strife to be only the equally magnificent remnant of hope: "For Love's despair is but Hope's pining ghost!" (20). In deliberation, Coleridge cancels out the speaker's miniscule sense of rationality and creates a world where all is vision, all is wonderfully intangible, and the fantasy itself provides relief from complex reality. When, one might say, the tables are turned on reality, this capitalized condition of "Hope" (17) serves as the speaker's source of pride, "his inward bliss and boast" (17). Coleridge's speaker makes a conscious choice to live by his dreams. Furthermore, he needs nothing more than a simple goal in and of itself to live, day in and day out: "For this one hope he makes his hourly moan, / He wishes and can wish for this alone!" (21-22) While physical human needs remain, Coleridge's primary concern are those hungers and thirsts of the soul.

"The Visionary Hope" romanticizes dreamlike pining as it is a means for expressing splendorous sensitivity to emotion. Contrasting elements of pleasure and pain represent Coleridge's ever-existing question of a dream's realistic validity beyond forming an ideal prospect: "Pierced, as with light from Heaven, before its gleams/ (So the love-stricken visionary deems)" (23-24). While the visionary will inherently fall captive to an ignorant hope of attaining the unattainable, he lives in a tranquil sense of certainty, an understanding of his own simple ignorance and blind faith, in the half-reality of imagining what meeting his goal would mean. In a word, Coleridge's character lives the dream most fully in the awareness that it is not, and may never be, fulfilled. Concluding verses proclaim the thinker's adamant decision: "Or let it stay! yet this one Hope should give / Such strength that he would bless his pains and live." (27-28) In Coleridge's eyes, faith in what is purely imaginative brings the human closer to his own divinity. Through romanticizing blind faith, he eloquently reveals an individual's spiritual elevation in understanding what he cannot grasp.

Essay: Lifeblood Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 45 Coleridge's poem speaks to the emotional heart; no source other than a heartfelt sense of the intangible dream can sustain a life of individual awareness. For the author, rationality of the mind cannot substitute the sensations of the soul, for to live motivated by something ever-nearing but never arriving is to condition the strength of human passion. Coleridge's poem calls hope salvation from an otherwise bleak existence. The dreamlike aspiration constantly nourishes and draws one forward, allowing one to "bless" and cherish all aspects of happiness and pain involved in living a human life. One can hope and "wish for this alone" (22), for the act of envisioning grants greater human consciousness.

1. What is most frustrating about the grief of the speaker in "Dejection: An Ode"? A. it is made worse by moonlight B. it leads to violent thoughts C. it is unemotional D. it is unstoppable

2. Where does the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" seek solace for his grief? A. in the arms of his beloved B. in alcohol C. in his poetry D. in Nature

3. What can the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" see but not feel? A. sorrow for his missing beloved B. the sensible decision to make C. the beauty of Nature D. hope in the midst of his trials

4. What realization about Nature does the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" arrive at? A. the natural world is indifferent to man's suffering B. Nature cannot lift up a soul that will not raise itself C. Nature is in fact harsh, not gentle D. Nature must be controlled by human hands

5. Who alone is given joy in "Dejection: An Ode"? A. the wealthy B. the artistic C. the pure D. the beloved

6. What did Nature give the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" at his birth? A. sorrow B. imagination C. a soul D. joy

Quiz 1 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 47 7. What pulls the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" out of his dark thoughts? A. the howling wind B. the song of a nightingale C. a knock at the door D. the lure of drink

8. Who is the "friend" the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" wishes to pay a visit to the Lady? A. Bacchus B. Cupid C. Sleep D. Comfort

9. To what does the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" compare the wind? A. a ghost's whisper B. a host in rout C. a flock of eagles D. the hammer of the gods

10. What can the speaker of "Dejection: An Ode" hear once the wind dies down? A. the howl of a lone wolf B. the drops of rain upon the windows C. the sobs of his beloved D. the cry of a lost child

11. Where was Coleridge born? A. Liverpool B. Devonshire C. London D. Shropshire

12. How many siblings did Coleridge have? A. 1 B. 5 C. 13 D. 17

14. Whom did Coleridge marry? A. Mary Shelley B. Sara Southey C. Dorothy Wordsworth D. Sara Hutchinson

15. Which famous poet became Coleridge's brother-in-law? A. Robert Southey B. William Wordsworth C. William Blake D. Percy Shelley

16. With whom did Coleridge fall in love? A. Mary Shelley B. Sara Southey C. Dorothy Wordsworth D. Sara Hutchinson

17. For what church was Coleridge a preacher? A. Unitarian B. Baptist C. Anglican D. Catholic

18. What landmark of the Romantic Age did Coleridge co-author? A. The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence B. The Idylls of the King C. Lyrical Ballads D. Songs of Innocence and Experience

20. In whose home did Coleridge spend his final days? A. Percy Shelley's B. John Gillman's C. Robert Southey's D. William Wordsworth's

21. With whom did Coleridge have a falling out that was never fully reconciled? A. Sara Southey B. Robert Southey C. William Wordsworth D. William Blake

22. Which major poem did Coleridge rewrite and re-publish? A. Kubla Khan B. Dejection: An Ode C. The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence D. Rime of the Ancient Mariner

23. On which author was Coleridge a famous lecturer? A. Geoffrey Chaucer B. Sir Thomas Malory C. William Shakespeare D. John Milton

24. How old was Coleridge when he died? A. 37 B. 45 C. 61 D. 89

1. (C) it is unemotional 2. (D) in Nature 3. (C) the beauty of Nature 4. (B) Nature cannot lift up a soul that will not raise itself 5. (C) the pure 6. (B) imagination 7. (A) the howling wind 8. (C) Sleep 9. (B) a host in rout 10. (D) the cry of a lost child 11. (B) Devonshire 12. (C) 13 13. (C) opium 14. (B) Sara Southey 15. (A) Robert Southey 16. (D) Sara Hutchinson 17. (A) Unitarian 18. (C) Lyrical Ballads 19. (B) William Wordsworth 20. (B) John Gillman's 21. (C) William Wordsworth 22. (D) Rime of the Ancient Mariner 23. (C) William Shakespeare 24. (C) 61 25. (C) Jesus College

1. In "Christabel," what does Christabel first think is making the moaning sound she hears in the woods? A. the oak tree B. a woman's ghost C. the wind D. the toothless mastiff

2. In "Christabel," who is Christabel's father? A. Sir Gawain B. Sir Lancelot C. Sir Tarquine D. Sir Leoline

3. What time of day does "Christabel" begin? A. midnight B. evening C. afternoon D. morning

4. in "Christabel," what animal represents the Baron's impotence? A. the mastiff B. the robin C. the owl D. the mare

5. Why does Christabel go into the woods so late at night? A. to pray for her distant fiancee B. to hide her sorrow from her father C. to seek a witch's advice D. to find special ingredients for dinner

6. What is the only green on the oak tree in "Christabel"? A. moss and mistletoe B. strange, oozing sap C. a single leaf D. a family of caterpillars

Quiz 2 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 53 7. Whom does Christabel find on the other side of the oak tree? A. a wandering knight B. a faerie princess iin a silver crown C. a pale woman clad in white D. the ghost of her deceased mother

8. What is the name of the pale woman whom Christabel finds in the forest? A. Morgan le Fay B. Delilah C. Geraldine D. Clarissa

9. Who left Geraldine beneath the oak tree? A. an evil wizard B. five warriors C. her evil step-mother D. a band of goblins

10. What does Christabel offer Geraldine when she learns of the poor woman's plight? A. a warm coat B. her father's hospitality C. a chance at vengeance D. a loaf of bread

11. Where does Geraldine faint? A. in the castle entry hall B. in the castle dining room C. on the bridge across the river D. outside the castle threshold

12. What does Sir Leoline's mastiff do when Geraldine enters the castle? A. licks her B. attacks her C. runs away D. howls mournfully

Quiz 2 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 54 13. When did Christabel's mother die? A. on Christabel's wedding day B. three Christmases ago C. the hour of Christabel's birth D. on Christabel's fifteenth birthday

14. What does Geraldine ward off in Christabel's room? A. Christabel's mother as a guardian spirit B. Christabel's father and his unwanted advances C. an evil spirit of freezing death D. the demon of suspicion

15. What sight alarms Christabel? A. the "leering light" in Geraldine's eyes B. the "pagan images" upon Geraldine's back C. a "mark of shame" upon Geraldine's bosom and side D. a "ghastly glow" forming a halo around Geraldine's head

16. What does Geraldine's spell do to Christabel? A. makes her hate her father and mother B. keep her from revealing what she has seen C. turns her into a statue of herself D. forces her to sleep through the next day

17. What does Christabel think she has done the night she slept in the same bed as Geraldine? A. offended Geraldine B. helped a friend in need C. betrayed her father D. sinned against God

18. Who is Geraldine's father? A. Sir Gawain B. Sir Roland C. Sir Leoline D. Sir Mordred

Quiz 2 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 55 19. What is Sir Leoline's relationship with Geraldine's father? A. they went to school together B. they have been enemies for a long time C. they are brothers D. they married into the same royal family

20. What caused the enmity between Sir Roland and Sir Leoline? A. a fight over the same woman B. insults on both sides C. Sir Leoline's failure to pay Sir Roland fairly D. Sir Roland's betrayal of Sir Leoline's trust

21. Who is summoned to deliver news of Geraldine's safety to her father? A. David B. Bracy C. Gareth D. Lancelot

22. What is Bracy's occupation? A. knight B. sorcerer C. courier D. bard

23. What is Bracy's reaction to Sir Leoline's command regarding Geraldine? A. he asks that it be delayed B. he asks that it come immediately C. he accuses Sir Roland of dishonoring his daughter D. he fears some treachery from Sir Leoline

24. What temporarily frees Christabel from Geraldine's spell? A. her own silent prayer B. her father's embrace C. Geraldine's confusion D. the sight of sunrise

Quiz 2 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 56 25. When temporarily free from Geraldine's spell, what does Christabel ask of her father? A. to allow her to go with Geraldine back to her home B. to find Christabel's missing mother C. to lock Geraldine in the tower D. to send Geraldine away immediately

1. (A) the oak tree 2. (D) Sir Leoline 3. (A) midnight 4. (A) the mastiff 5. (A) to pray for her distant fiancee 6. (A) moss and mistletoe 7. (C) a pale woman clad in white 8. (C) Geraldine 9. (B) five warriors 10. (B) her father's hospitality 11. (D) outside the castle threshold 12. (D) howls mournfully 13. (C) the hour of Christabel's birth 14. (A) Christabel's mother as a guardian spirit 15. (C) a "mark of shame" upon Geraldine's bosom and side 16. (B) keep her from revealing what she has seen 17. (D) sinned against God 18. (B) Sir Roland 19. (B) they have been enemies for a long time 20. (B) insults on both sides 21. (B) Bracy 22. (D) bard 23. (A) he asks that it be delayed 24. (A) her own silent prayer 25. (D) to send Geraldine away immediately

1. Why does Bracy seek to delay his journey to Sir Roland's lands? A. he wants to press his suit with Christabel B. he wishes to spend more time with Geraldine C. he knows the lore of the forest and it says travel is dangerous D. he has had a dream of dire portent

2. What did Christabel's mother say she would do after she died? A. inhabit the oak tree and give Christabel advice from it B. return if Sir Leoline ever took another bride C. follow Christabel and keep her safe for all her days D. hear the clock chime twelve times on Christabel's wedding day

3. To what are Geraldine's eyes compared? A. an owl's eyes B. red stars in the night C. a snake's eyes D. glittering ebony

4. What is Sir Leoline's current state in "Christabel"? A. he has fallen into poverty B. he rules his land with wisdom C. he is constantly angry and bitter D. he is weak and sickly

5. What did Kubla Khan decree? A. the building of a pleasure dome B. the extermination of his enemies C. the pillaging of a nearby town D. a feast in his own honor

6. What river runs through Kubla Khan's land? A. Styx B. Alph C. Nile D. Thames

8. How much land was encircled by Kubla Khan's walls? A. ten miles B. two miles C. five miles D. twenty miles

9. What feature stands out in the fertile grounds of Kubla Khan's pleasure dome? A. a river of gold B. a crystal mountain C. a quicksand pit D. a deep chasm

10. What issues forth from the chasm in Xanadu? A. molten lava B. the cries of the damned C. freezing winds D. a mighty fountain

11. How long does the sacred river run through Kubla Khan's pleasure dome? A. ten miles B. three miles C. five miles D. twenty miles

12. What does the chasm fountain spew forth with the water? A. dancing rocks B. gouts of steam C. fiery sparks D. victims' skulls

Quiz 3 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 60 13. What does Kubla Khan hear amid the noise of the chasm geyser? A. the sounds of walls crumbling B. the cries of the damned C. prophecies of war D. the wailing of a ghost woman

14. What is the "miracle" of Kubla Khan's pleasure dome? A. it holds breathable air under water B. it is sunny, but with caves of ice C. it can move about at Khan's will D. it traps the souls of the deceased within its walls

15. What does the "Abyssinian maid" play upon? A. a flute B. a harp C. a dulcimer D. a guitar

16. What does the "Abyssinian maid" sing about? A. Alph the sacred river B. the River Styx C. Kubla Khan's death D. Mount Abora

17. Where is the speaker in "Frost at Midnight"? A. in a cottage B. in the woods C. in a city D. on a ship

18. In "Frost at Midnight," who is the speaker's only companion? A. his child B. his horse C. his brother D. his wife

20. In "Frost at Midnight," what does the speaker describe as "the poor man's only music"? A. a harmonica B. a whistling kettle C. church bells D. hammers on anvils

21. Where was the speaker in "Frost at Midnight" raised? A. the mountains B. the farm C. the desert D. the city

22. What hope does the speaker in "Frost at Midnight" have for his baby? A. that he will learn more by growing up in the country B. that he will learn to hunt the white stag C. that he will become a famous philosopher D. that he will become a brilliant scientist by observing the stars

23. What does the speaker of "Frost at Midnight" claim is God's own "eternal language"? A. the howling wind B. the brilliant constellations C. the music of men D. the beauty of nature

24. What is the only sound the speaker in "Frost at Midnight" hears? A. the howling wind B. the owlet's cry C. the bleat of lambs D. the crunch of snow

Quiz 3 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 62 25. What is the only movement the speaker perceives in "Frost at Midnight"? A. the sway of wind-blown trees B. the slow pace of clouds above C. the flickering fire D. the film upon the grate

1. (D) he has had a dream of dire portent 2. (D) hear the clock chime twelve times on Christabel's wedding day 3. (C) a snake's eyes 4. (D) he is weak and sickly 5. (A) the building of a pleasure dome 6. (B) Alph 7. (D) Xanadu 8. (A) ten miles 9. (D) a deep chasm 10. (D) a mighty fountain 11. (C) five miles 12. (A) dancing rocks 13. (C) prophecies of war 14. (B) it is sunny, but with caves of ice 15. (C) a dulcimer 16. (D) Mount Abora 17. (A) in a cottage 18. (A) his child 19. (A) the silence 20. (C) church bells 21. (D) the city 22. (A) that he will learn more by growing up in the country 23. (D) the beauty of nature 24. (B) the owlet's cry 25. (D) the film upon the grate

1. Who or what does the speaker address in "Sonnet: To the River Otter"? A. a brook B. his younger self C. the wind D. an otter

2. What activity does the speaker recall in "Sonnet: To the River Otter"? A. swimming B. picking flowers C. fishing D. skipping stones

3. What does the speaker in "Sonnet: To the River Otter" wish for? A. a return to childhood innocence B. a visit to a foreign land C. a visit from his beloved D. a return to his native country

4. What stands out most in the childhood memory of the speaker in "Sonnet: To the River Otter"? A. the intrusion of urban blight on the countryside B. the stormy skies of his homeland C. the wild playfulness of the otter D. the beauty of the brook

5. How long has it been since the speaker in "Sonnet: To the River Otter" has visited the brook? A. only a few weeks B. several months C. many years D. nearly a century

6. According to Coleridge, what kind of poem is "The Nightingale"? A. a conversation poem B. a popular ballad C. a free verse poem D. an idyll

Quiz 4 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 65 7. Where do the three friends rest in "The Nightingale"? A. under a dying oak tree B. under a millhouse's eaves C. on a mossy bridge D. between the walls of a canyon

8. In "The Nightingale," what description does the speaker believe is unduly attributed to the nightingale? A. melancholy B. aggression C. radiance D. joy

9. Whom does the speaker of "The Nightingale" think first attributed melancholy to the nightingale? A. a grieving mother B. a scorned child C. a sad wanderer D. a foolish poet

10. Where does the speaker of "The Nightingale" think poets should spend their time? A. at home studying the Classics B. in school learning to become better writers C. wherever their true loves dwell D. outdoors exploring Nature

11. Where does the speaker of "The Nightingale" feel young poets spend too much of their time? A. in ballrooms and theatres B. in schoolrooms and libraries C. at work away from their poetry D. wandering through the woods

12. Who are the two companions of the speaker in "The Nightingale"? A. his son and his dog B. his friend and their sister C. his wife and his daughter D. his imaginary younger and older selves

Quiz 4 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 66 13. Who are the real-world analogues of the speaker's companions in "The Nightingale"? A. Homer and Virgil B. Sarah and John Hutchinson C. Hartley Coleridge and his puppy D. William and Dorothy Wordsworth

14. Where has the speaker in "The Nightingale" encountered many nightingales at once? A. in his friend's aviary B. a grove near a castle C. in the vastness of his imagination D. a dark forest near his home

15. What do the multitude of nightingales in "The Nightingale" make the patient listener think? A. that all hope is lost B. that it is really daytime C. that there can be no harm here D. that they are a single bird

16. Whom has the speaker in "The Nightingale" encountered in the grove of nightingales? A. a ghostly knight from the castle B. a Maid communing with Nature C. a trio of birdwatchers D. a Witch performing a spell

17. What causes the nightingales in the grove to pause their singing? A. the twinkling of the northern star B. the disappearance of the moon C. the arrival of strangers D. the howl of a wolf

18. Whom does the speaker of "The Nightingale" think would enjoy the song of the bird? A. his departed brother B. his estranged wife C. his aging father D. his infant son

Quiz 4 Copyright (C) 2011 GradeSaver LLC 67 19. What soothed the crying son of the speaker in "The Nightingale"? A. the sight of the moon B. the glory of sunrise C. the song of the nightingale D. the cool midnight breeze

20. What does the speaker of "The Nightingale" wish for his son? A. that he will associate the night with joy B. that he will reject darkness for the light C. that he will become a great poet D. that he will fall in love with the Maid

21. Who is the source of the speaker's sorrow in "Dejection: An Ode"? A. a greatly-changed childhood friend B. an ill son C. a lost love D. a dying parent

22. Whom does the "Lady" of "Dejection: An Ode" represent? A. Dorothy Wordsworth B. Mary Shelley C. Sara Hutchinson D. Charlotte Bronte

23. With what older poem does "Dejection: An Ode" begin? A. The Idylls of the King B. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner C. The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence D. The Fisher-King

24. In "Dejection: An Ode," what does the sight of the new moon holding the old moon "in her arms" portend? A. a calm sea B. a dry summer C. a good harvest D. a coming storm

1. (A) a brook 2. (D) skipping stones 3. (A) a return to childhood innocence 4. (D) the beauty of the brook 5. (C) many years 6. (A) a conversation poem 7. (C) on a mossy bridge 8. (A) melancholy 9. (C) a sad wanderer 10. (D) outdoors exploring Nature 11. (A) in ballrooms and theatres 12. (B) his friend and their sister 13. (D) William and Dorothy Wordsworth 14. (B) a grove near a castle 15. (B) that it is really daytime 16. (B) a Maid communing with Nature 17. (B) the disappearance of the moon 18. (D) his infant son 19. (A) the sight of the moon 20. (A) that he will associate the night with joy 21. (C) a lost love 22. (C) Sara Hutchinson 23. (C) The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence 24. (D) a coming storm 25. (D) the Old Moon

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