Coleridge entered a London charity school called Christ's Hospital with the
help of a former pupil of Coleridge's father. Here, he gained a strong
sense of the Canon of the time learning the theologies of Plato and
some neoplatonists. In 1791, Coleridge went to Cambridge with the
help of a scholarship. He studied hard until financial debts overwhelmed
him. He enlisted in the army and quickly realized he was not cut out
for the life of a foot soldier. With the help of his brothers, Coleridge
left the army and returned to the university to drop out once again.
Coleridge eventually met William and Dorthy Wordsworth. This meeting
helped to further Coleridge's literary career. Both Coleridge and William
Wordsworth influenced each other's literary intellect. Through their mutual
efforts, they published Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This volume contains
the famous Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Coleridge is best known
for his poetry. However, he published works dealing with Shakespeare,
Milton, and critical theories. Later, Coleridge published Biographia
Literaria in 1867. It has become a main source for
English Romantic theory.
Several failures occurred during his life. He lived in a failed utopian
community titled Pantisocracy. Shortly before the community fell apart,
Coleridge married Sara Ficker in 1795. The marriage was doomed to not work,
and Coleridge finally separated from his wife in 1806. Coleridge's other
great failure in life was his opium addiction. The addiction began in the
early 1790s and lasted his whole life. This failure may be considered a blessing as it may have
been one of the main causes for his stranger poems like Kubla Khan.
Coleridge died in 1834 in the home of Dr. and Mrs. James Gillman a happy man as he achieved
much literary success during his life.
Coleridge was a source for great poetry of the Romantic age of literature.
Nature abounds in Romantic literature. A choice example of nature is a sunset.
This is why I chose the following poem:
| Upon the mountain's edge with light touch resting, | |
| There a brief while the globe of splendour sits | |
| And seems a creature of the earth, but soon, | |
| More changeful than the Moon, | |
| To wane fantastic his great orb submits, | |
| Or cone or mow of fire : till sinking slowly | |
| Even to a star at length he lessons wholly. | |
| Abrupt, as Spirits vanish, he is sunk ! | |
| A soul-like breeze possesses all the wood. | |
| The boughs, the sprays have stood | |
| As motionless as stands the ancient trunk ! | |
| But every leaf through all the forest flutters, | |
| And deep the cavern of the fountain mutters. |
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This web page was designed by Wade Grathwohl Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "A Sunset." The Works of Coleridge. Ed. James Dykes Campbell London:
Macmillan and Co., 1924.
The text of "A Sunset" was transcribed by Wade Grathwohl
The text of "A Sunset" was transcribed from The Works of Coleridge. Ed. James Dykes Campbell London:
Macmillan and Co., 1924.
The orginal spelling, punctuation, and the break between the stanzas has been preserved from
this text. The spacing has been changed to a small degree to fit on the page more simply.
This web page was last revised November 4, 1999.
Eds. Hazelton Spencer, Walter Houghton, Herbert Barrows, David Ferry, and Beverly Layman.
British Literature-1800 to the Present. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company, 1974.
Vol. 2 of 2 Vols.
"Cloud Background." Iconbazaar. http://www.iconbazaar.com/backgrounds/clouds/cdbk018.php (November 4, 1999).
"Coleridge Picture." http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jcoleridge.htm (November 4, 1999).
"Sunset Picture." Lycos Pic Gallery. http://www.lycos.com/cgi-bin/pursuit?cut=image_gallery&first=5&maxhits=8ofquery=2-1835&mtemp=thumbnails&fs=parent&image=905477 (November 4, 1999)