Concetti Chiave
- Coleridge, born in Devonshire in 1772, left Cambridge without a degree and formed a significant friendship with Wordsworth.
- His collaboration with Wordsworth led to the creation of "Lyrical Ballads" in 1798, focusing on supernatural themes.
- During a trip to Germany, Coleridge developed an interest in German philosophy, influencing his later works like "Biographia Literaria".
- Coleridge struggled with opium addiction, which influenced his fascination with supernatural and abstract themes.
- "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," a key poem in "Lyrical Ballads," explores themes of guilt and redemption through a symbolic voyage.
LIFE
Coleridge's early life and influences
Coleridge was born in Devonshire in 1772, then he went to Cambridge but he left without taking a degree.
Coleridge met Wordsworth and they became friends.
The influence of Wordsworth stimulated him to his best production: together Wordsworth and Coleridge projected the lyrical ballads in 1798, also if they were interested in different things.
Coleridge wrote about supernatural, he was fascinated by mysterious esoteric things.
Wordsworth wrote about the simple ordinary things.
German philosophy and later works
In 1798-99 Coleridge and Wordsworth went on a trip in Germany together. There Coleridge became interested in German philosophy from which he took inspiration in his later work ( biographia literaria).
When he came back from Germany, he stayed in London, until his death in 1834.
He wrote for the lyrical Ballad “the rime of ancient mariner” and other works concerned with supernatural forces.
Opium addiction and beliefs
He fell in love with the sister of Wordsworth wife.
He was addicted to opium: drugs brought him in a supernatural world.
He believed that natural images had abstract meanings.
Poem written on the form of a ballad that is composed by 4 lines stanzas.
It’s the Coleridge’s greatest poem.
It’s the first poem of the collection Lyrical Ballads.
It’s made up of 7 parts.
The rime of ancient mariner tells of a symbolic voyager.
The story begin with the arrive of a mariner to a wedding where he persuaded a wedding guest to listen to his story.
So, he describe a voyage: an albatross drive the ship in
Storms but the mariner kill him motiveless.
The act is symbolic and the mariner committee a crime against creation, against the positive life-force.
Because of his sin the ship-mates are condemned to death and the mariner, the only one who survive, had to live an eternal life in which he had to tell to everyone his story.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the key influences on Coleridge's literary work?
- What is the central theme of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?
Coleridge was significantly influenced by his friendship with Wordsworth, which led to their collaboration on the "Lyrical Ballads" in 1798. Additionally, his interest in German philosophy during a trip to Germany with Wordsworth inspired his later works, such as "Biographia Literaria."
The central theme of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is the symbolic voyage of a mariner who commits a crime against creation by killing an albatross. This act leads to the death of his shipmates and condemns him to an eternal life of retelling his story, highlighting themes of sin, guilt, and redemption.
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