Coleridge also seeks to create ‘one-ness by using objects as a metaphor for unity. In Lime Tree Bower, ‘the last rook’ that Coleridge sees unifies him with his friend Charles, as he is able to find comfort in the fact it came from where Charles is, and that Charles saw it as he “stood’st gazing”. This poem also highlights Coleridge’s power of the imagination, as he is able to unify himself with his friends via his superior secondary imagination. A metaphor that Coleridge repeats in several of his poems is the Harp. In The Aeolian Harp, he considers that “all of animated nature/ Be but organic harps diversely fram’d”. This not only unites ‘all of animated nature’ in a literal sense through the common metaphor of the Harp, but also that nature can be united by the fact that it is all ‘diversely fram’d’, in a wider sense that it is because everything is different that it exists in harmony. In The Nightingale, he writes how wind “had swept at once/ A hundred airy harps”, and in Dejection; “Unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade…upon the strings of this Aeolian lute”. In these two extracts we can see the use of metaphor; God being the ‘wind’ that plays on the strings of the ‘harps’ or all of Nature. This further enhances his vision of unity as it implies that just as the wind is responsible for all the music from the harps, God created and is therefore responsible for all of Nature. The repetition of the harp imagery can be considered to make it even more significant; “such images recur seldom; but that, when they do, they are lifted into a rarer atmosphere, a more remote region, than that of mere outward vision.”
The idea of harps being an object that unifies everything links with the musical way in which Coleridge had tried to create ‘one-ness. In Kubla Khan, Coleridge speaks of the delights brought by the “symphony and song”, something that is engineered carefully so as for it to be harmonious. In The Nightingale, Coleridge uses further imagery that gives the suggestion of one-ness through music, specifically the song of the nightingale-“stirring the air with such a harmony” and “…burst forth in choral minstrelsy” both imply a carefully composed sense of unity, which is interesting as it seems to conflict with the general assertion that the Romantics favoured the wild and untamed aspects of nature that exist completely naturally, rather than the kind of carefully constructed ‘beauty’ as would be seen in a garden. It has also been suggested that a significant image of unity in the poem is the line “…so his song/ Should make all Nature lovelier, and itself/ Be loved like Nature!” This could imply that it is because nature is unified that it can be seen as ‘lovely’. However, I think that it also emphasises the interdependence in Nature-suggesting that without each little piece, the picture would be incomplete, destroying the fragile balance of ‘one-ness’ that exists within it. The line “In Nature there is nothing melancholy” also suggests this balance, of many things coming together to make ‘Nature’. Referring to the earth as a single being is another way in which Coleridge emphasises this interdependence. We can see this exemplified in many of his poems; in Fears in Solitude he describes ‘My mother isle’, in Frost at Midnight he refers to ‘the general earth’ and in The Nightingale he speaks of vernal showers which ‘gladden the green earth’. By acknowledging the earth as a whole, we see Coleridge’s appreciation for the fact that each individual piece of nature on its own may not be significant, but when combined in unity with all other parts of nature, it makes the one beautiful entity-the earth.
Coleridge’s struggle to unify his split self is also evident in his work. In Frost at Midnight and he poetically expresses his recuperative attempts to do this, mainly through connecting himself to his surroundings and his family. In Frost at Midnight, he links himself with the little flame dancing in the fireplace. He writes “Methinks, its motion in this hush of nature/ Gives it dim sympathies with me who live”; giving the impression that he is desperately trying to make connections. The repetition of ‘I’ sounds also emphasises this connection with himself. The line “every where/ Echo or mirror seeking of itself” suggests that this characteristic of wanting unity is common to all. In Dejection, despite his feeling that he has lost his sense of ‘one-ness’ with God, we see that he still retains his power of the imagination. It has also been suggested that “Despite his insistence on the separation between the mind and the world, Coleridge nevertheless continues to find metaphors for his own feelings in nature” thus showing that he is still unconsciously unifying himself with nature. This shows the fact that “Nature ne’er deserts the wise and pure”, as he wrote in Lime Tree Bower, and this combined with his display of his secondary imagination can be seen to elevate him. This extraordinary quality of his imagination is something that Coleridge frequently uses in his poetry, and he explains it in his Biographia Literaria. In this book, he made a distinction between the Primary and Secondary imaginations: “The imagination then I consider either as primary or secondary.” He goes on to consider that the primary imagination is simply “a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation”-it is something that everyone has, it was given by God. However, Coleridge believed that his imagination was of the superior ‘secondary’ kind, which “... struggles to idealize and unify” This offers us further explanation as to why Coleridge unconsciously needs to constantly unify and assert one-ness in his poetry.
There is also much evidence in his works as to the consequences of a lack of unity. In Dejection, Coleridge is in despair, as he believes that he has lost his connection not just with God but Asra. The line “I see, not feel how beautiful they are” emphasises how he can see all the beauty around him but feels unable to truly appreciate it as he normally does. His melancholy at the lack of connection with God is further reflected; “I may not hope from outward forms to win/ The passion and life whose fountains are within”. This shows how one needs to have the connection with God within to be able to truly appreciate the sublimity of nature, as it cannot be ‘won from outward forms’. Coleridge is justifiably incredibly worried about this lack of connection he feels; as one of the Romantic poets who put great importance on this ability to experience the sublime and write about it, the thought of having lost this was frightening to him. His desperation is reflected when he prays for his ‘Dear Lady’ and says “mayest thou ever, evermore rejoice”. This shows his love for ‘Asra’, or Sara Hutchinson with whom he was having an affair. George McLean Harper also suggests that the desperate, frightened emotion is also reflected In Pains of Sleep, where he wrote that the final lines “To be beloved is all I need, / And whom I love I love indeed” make it seem as if Coleridge is “in distress and crying out” for help as he again feels detached-the first line “ere on my bed my limbs I lay” suggesting that his mind is somehow separated from his body. However as illustrated in Dejection, despite Coleridge’s despair and feeling of lack of imagination, his poetry still contains the kind of powerful imagery seen in his other poems, for example “viper thoughts, that coil around my mind” bears similarity to the imagery of the albatross in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. However, in context here too we see portrayed the extreme agony suffered when physically unable to connect with God. This imagery portrays to the reader the dangers of the loss of one-ness or unity.
Overall, throughout Coleridge’s poetry, we can see clearly that finding connection and making links is, in his view, a key goal. The use of Rondo form in many of his poems shows his ability to reflect on Nature and sometimes boost his mood. We also realise that despite his constant worry that to lose the sense of ‘one-ness’ would spell disastrous consequences, he is still able to produce powerful poetry when he feels disconnected with God and Nature. It is also interesting how he asserts the concept of pantheism in his work without having any intellectual conviction himself that it is acceptable, which we may find hypocritical. However, it also shows that the need to unify is very strong for Coleridge, and this could offer explanation as to why he does it. The desire to find connections between things is clearly key to Coleridge’s work, and considering his perceived superiority of the unconsciously unifying secondary imagination, and it can be seen that by displaying ‘one-ness’ in his poetry, and therefore displaying this imagination, that he is trying to elevate himself.
Works Consulted
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M. H. Abrams, ed., 1960: English Romantic Poets - Modern Essays in Criticism. A Galaxy Book, Oxford University Press, New York.
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York Notes Advanced, Samuel Coleridge Selected Poems, York Press
- The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume XI. The Period of the French Revolution.VI. Coleridge. § 10. The Poetry of Nature; Anima Poetœ
Word count for both essays: 2990
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume XI. The Period of the French Revolution.VI. Coleridge.§ 10. The Poetry of Nature; Anima Poetœ.
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/coleridge/section6.rhtml
“Coleridge's Conversation Poems”', by George McLean Harper,
