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Originally conceived as a short preface to Sibylline Leaves, by the time Coleridge's Biographia Literaria was published in 1817 it had expanded into a two-volume apologia for the Romantic poet's "literary life and opinions." Coleridge here develops a theory of the poetic imagination, in which an artist's passion, will, memory, and perception intersect to engender her or his work. This unique edition is essential to understanding the influences and ideology of Romanticism. more Originally conceived as a short preface to Sibylline Leaves, by the time Coleridge's Biographia Literaria was published in 1817 it had expanded into a two-volume apologia for the Romantic poet's "literary life and opinions." Coleridge here develops a theory of the poetic imagination, in which an artist's passion, will, memory, and perception intersect to engender her or his work. This unique edition is essential to understanding the influences and ideology of Romanticism. less 
Seamus PerryHere Coleridge rejects passivity, inherited from an eighteenth-century philosophical tradition. He wants to put forward an innate, divine creativity informing not just works of art but all our perceptions. (Source)
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the Romantic age's most enigmatic figures, a genius of astonishing diversity; author of some of the most famous poems in the English language; one of England's greatest critics and theorists of literature and imagination; as well as autobiographer, nature-writer, philosopher, theologian, psychologist, and talker. Throughout his life, he confided his thoughts and emotions to his Notebooks, where we can still see his speculations and observations taking shape. This edition presents a selection from this unique work, newly presented, with notes and commentary,... more Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the Romantic age's most enigmatic figures, a genius of astonishing diversity; author of some of the most famous poems in the English language; one of England's greatest critics and theorists of literature and imagination; as well as autobiographer, nature-writer, philosopher, theologian, psychologist, and talker. Throughout his life, he confided his thoughts and emotions to his Notebooks, where we can still see his speculations and observations taking shape. This edition presents a selection from this unique work, newly presented, with notes and commentary, for the student as well as the general reader.
less Seamus PerryThe Notebooks are Coleridge’s masterpiece. They’re an opportunity for him to exercise or to demonstrate his genius without any of the obligation to finish things. (Source)
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Keach | 4.39
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Samuel Taylor Colefidge | 4.22
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere") is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 and featuring a gloss. Along with other poems in Lyrical Ballads, it was a signal shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic literature.
It relates the events experienced by a mariner who has returned from a long sea voyage. The Mariner stops a man on his... more The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere") is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 and featuring a gloss. Along with other poems in Lyrical Ballads, it was a signal shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic literature.
It relates the events experienced by a mariner who has returned from a long sea voyage. The Mariner stops a man on his way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story. The Wedding-Guest's reaction turns from bemusement to impatience, fear, and fascination as the Mariner's story progresses, as can be seen in the language style: for example, the use of narrative techniques such as personification and repetition to create a sense of danger, or the supernatural, or serenity, depending on the mood each different part of the poem. less Seamus PerryIt’s not just a poem about terrible things that happen, it’s a poem about how you remember terrible things that happen, narrativise them, and try to make sense of them. (Source)
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1798 and 1802
William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Fiona Stafford | 4.12
Wordsworth and Coleridge's joint collection of poems has often been singled out as the founding text of English Romanticism. Within this initially unassuming, anonymous volume were many of the poems that came to define their age and which have continued to delight readers ever since, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the 'Lucy' poems, Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey, A Slumber did my Spirit seal and many more. Wordsworth's famous Preface is a manifesto not just for Romanticism but for poetry in general.
This is the only edition to print both the... more Wordsworth and Coleridge's joint collection of poems has often been singled out as the founding text of English Romanticism. Within this initially unassuming, anonymous volume were many of the poems that came to define their age and which have continued to delight readers ever since, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the 'Lucy' poems, Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey, A Slumber did my Spirit seal and many more. Wordsworth's famous Preface is a manifesto not just for Romanticism but for poetry in general.
This is the only edition to print both the original 1798 collection and the expanded 1802 edition, with the fullest version of the Preface and Wordsworth's important Appendix on Poetic Diction. It offers modern readers a sense of what it was like to encounter Lyrical Ballads for the first time, and to see how it developed. Important letters are included, as well as a wide-ranging introduction and generous notes. less Seamus PerryWordsworth is in all sorts of ways just as indebted to Coleridge as Coleridge ever was to Wordsworth. (Source)
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