Coleridge And The Exploration Of The Supernatural Essay

Coleridge and The Exploration of The Supernatural Samuel Taylor Coleridge had such an imaginative mind, especially in the late-eighteenth century. I wish I could personally peek inside his mind, but my only option is to read his works in order to develop an insight of his thought process. What attracts to me to Coleridge’s writing is not only the rhyme structure, but the themes that he works with within his poetry. I am particularly fond of the following themes: the supernatural, good and evil, transformation, and influence. In order to explore these themes within Coleridge’s work I have selected two poems to research, the poems are the following: â€Å"Christabel† and â€Å"The Rime of The Ancient Mariner.† The two poems that I have chosen incorporate all the themes I have mentioned. When these themes are used to unify a work it brings about ambiguity and uncertainty to the reader. According to Stoll, superstition and the supernatural were popular themes for Romantic writers. Stoll states the followin g, † . . . As everybody knows, 1798, the date of the publication, was near the high tide of English Romanticism, a period at which the interest in the superstitious and the supernatural-ghosts and other spirits, witchcraft and magic, omens and forebodings-was widely prevalent. . .(222).† These themes leave us wondering if Geraldine is some sort of evil entity. Schwartz states, â€Å"The story is, like a dream of lovely forms, mixed with strange and indescribable terrors. The scene, theShow MoreRelatedEssay about Role of the Imagination for Romantic Poets1672 Words   |  7 Pagesimagination allowed poets to see beyond surface value, to create an external world of existence. It permitted them to see the truth beyond powers of reason and rationality. Samuel Taylor Coleridge in particular was a poet fascinated with the potential and limitless possibilities of the imagination. Coleridge placed considerable emphasis upon the imagination as a focal element within his poetry. He categorised the imagination into two key sectors; the primary imagination and secondary imaginationRead MoreThe French Revolution Of The 18th Century907 Words   |  4 PagesWordsworth and Samuel Coleridge. Accordingly, these poets illustrated the ideals of these revolutionary beliefs to reach the public consciousness of their society through poetic portrayals of the individual achieving greatness or personal understanding through the emotion of nature. As a result, this explication will demonstrate an exploration of romantic techniques to create an interpretation of my poem while examining the elements of Romantic poetry in general based on the works of Coleridge and WordsworthRead MoreThe Ancient Mariner Essay1068 Words   |  5 PagesThe Ancient Marine r Through The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge has created a masterpiece. This epic reworks the ballad form so that it comes alive and speaks to the Romantic Age, breathing a story as strange and delightful, mystical and wonderful as the mystery of life itself. The raw power of the language, the startling speed at which it hurls you along and the arresting questions of the poem fill your spirit with wonder at the operation of nature and the awesome mystery of evil. Read MoreThe Rime Of The Ancient Mariner878 Words   |  4 PagesThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge and his friend, William Wordsworth, put together a collection of their work called Lyrical Ballads. It contained Coleridge’s famous poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. This collection is widely recognized as the initiation of the shift towards modern poetry and British Romantic literature. Although the poem’s deliberate use of antiquated lang uage differed from romantic poetry’s use of modern languageRead MoreOld Norse Literary Traditions : Causes And Consequences Of Gothic Literature1547 Words   |  7 Pagesin Old Norse literary traditions crafted by the Gothic peoples of Scandinavia (Monnet)(â€Å"Goth†). Common tropes native to Old Norse literature include the protagonist suffering punishment for failing â€Å"to observe the heroic code†, references to the supernatural including â€Å"soothsayers, ghosts, incantations, gory imagery, and the eagerness of a bloody death†, and using the human body as a medium to explore â€Å"social issues such as aristocratic privilege, as well as traditional institutions such as the church†Read MoreHamlet’s Astounding Success Essay1959 Words   |  8 Pages(24-25).    This play is ranked by many as the very greatest ever written. Cumberland Clark in â€Å"The Supernatural in Hamlet† gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics of today:    At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Night’s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. (99)    There is no moreRead MoreOrientalism : The Romantic Era Of British Literature And Meshes Essay2475 Words   |  10 Pagesoriental fantasy of the east. The romantic period in Britain was recognized as a time of global travel and exploration, accession of colonies all over the world, and development of imperialist ideologies that rationalized the British takeover of distant territories. Many of the poets of the nineteenth century looked to orientalism for inspiration. Oriental tales featured exotic settings, supernatural happenings, extravagant events, characters, behavior, emotion, and speech. Romanticism and OrientalismRead More‚Äà ²for Me, the Story Is Less a Horror‚Ä ¶Than a Larger Than Life Gothic Fairytale‚Äà ´ (Kenneth Brannagh) How Far and in What Ways Do You Agree with This Description of the Text?1960 Words   |  8 Pagesintense language, yet during the novel, many other themes are introduced, especially in confronting the problems within society during the 19th century, such as the position of women, and the problems of the legal system, and so it is through the exploration of these other key themes which, for many readers, makes Frankenstein a tale of so much more than a horror. Although Shelley originally wrote her novel as part of a ‘ghost story’ competition amongst friends, it is more complex and deals with greaterRead MoreRomanticism versus Neoclassicism2775 Words   |  12 Pagesrelates to the outside world. Works ranging from Rousseaus Confessions and Reveries of a Solitary Walker to Wordsworths Prelude, Coleridges  «conversation » poems,  «Dejection »,  «Frost at Midnight »,  «Lime Tree Beauty » are examples of the romantic exploration of the self. Because romantics see the individuals relation to the outside world as the source of morality and wisdom, the importance of nature becomes a prime concern. Unlike urban environments that distort and hinder ones sense of relation toRe ad MoreHow Successfully Do Waltons Letters Introduce the Central Themes and Concerns of the Novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?1980 Words   |  8 Pagesrealise where ethical frontiers stand. Both Frankenstein and Walton refuse to live a normal and calm life and decide to go on adventures for knowledge. Neither of them can see reason and they prefer glory and fame to wealth. They pursue science and exploration to benefit mankind, but also for personal glory. A question the readers often ask is whether they have good motifs, or whether their ambitions are driving them crazy. Waltons language reflections on his passion and warm-heartedness. He writes