Romanticism: Coleridge
‘More than anything else, Romanticism is a celebration of Self; and, to the Romantic composer, it was the expression of a personal experience that links one human being to another and all human beings to the larger truth.’
A multitude of modes and doctrines encapsulated the Romantic revolt, the basis of which lie within such tenets as imagination, individualism and idealism. This paved the way for Romantic composers such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth to convey an appreciation of personal experiences within the bounties of the natural world, as well as to celebrate one’s comprehension of the inner self, in order to ultimately link individuals to one another and to the larger truth of life. Texts such as Coleridge’s This Lime Tree Bower my Prison and Frost at Midnight , as well as Wordsworth’s I wandered lonely as a cloud (also known as ‘Daffodils’) capture the myriad of newfound emotions and realisations which permeated the principles of Romanticism, and the heightened value of one’s sense of self and experiences which aided the association of humankind with the facets of nature, and each other.
To the Romantics, the natural world was a sanctuary in which individuals were entitled the right to self-expression and connection to the raw marrow of existence. In This Lime Tree Bower my Prison, Samuel Taylor Coleridge outlines how an appreciation of nature (a highly Romantic outlook) may result in a greater understanding of Self and connection to others, as well as to the universe and beyond. In his imaginative journey, Coleridge (1797) stimulates the reader’s senses with his vivid description of the “roaring dell, o’erwooded, narrow, deep”. The onomatopoeic resonance of “roaring” is repeated to resemble the continual sound produced by the moving water, outlining Coleridge’s detailed use of imagination to psychologically transport himself to the described site. From this, Coleridge is celebrating his newfound realisation of self, that he is simply
A multitude of modes and doctrines encapsulated the Romantic revolt, the basis of which lie within such tenets as imagination, individualism and idealism. This paved the way for Romantic composers such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth to convey an appreciation of personal experiences within the bounties of the natural world, as well as to celebrate one’s comprehension of the inner self, in order to ultimately link individuals to one another and to the larger truth of life. Texts such as Coleridge’s This Lime Tree Bower my Prison and Frost at Midnight , as well as Wordsworth’s I wandered lonely as a cloud (also known as ‘Daffodils’) capture the myriad of newfound emotions and realisations which permeated the principles of Romanticism, and the heightened value of one’s sense of self and experiences which aided the association of humankind with the facets of nature, and each other.
To the Romantics, the natural world was a sanctuary in which individuals were entitled the right to self-expression and connection to the raw marrow of existence. In This Lime Tree Bower my Prison, Samuel Taylor Coleridge outlines how an appreciation of nature (a highly Romantic outlook) may result in a greater understanding of Self and connection to others, as well as to the universe and beyond. In his imaginative journey, Coleridge (1797) stimulates the reader’s senses with his vivid description of the “roaring dell, o’erwooded, narrow, deep”. The onomatopoeic resonance of “roaring” is repeated to resemble the continual sound produced by the moving water, outlining Coleridge’s detailed use of imagination to psychologically transport himself to the described site. From this, Coleridge is celebrating his newfound realisation of self, that he is simply
Bibliography: Durr, R.A 1959, “This lime tree bower my prison” and a recurrent action in Coleridge, The John Hopkins University Press, Maryland, viewed 8 March 2014, http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2871803?uid=3737536&uid=2479783877&uid=2&uid=3&uid=60&sid=21103671809237 Istvan, D.R 1990, For and against Wordsworth: Ted Hughes’ “Daffodils”, Centre of Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), Debrecen, viewed 12 March 2014, http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/41273843?uid=3737536&uid=2134&uid=2479783887&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3&uid=2479783877&uid=60&purchase-type=none&accessType=none&sid=21103671194847&showMyJstorPss=false&seq=7&showAccess=false Sundell, M.G 1967, The theme of self-realization in “Frost at midnight”, Boston University, Boston, viewed 8 March 2014, http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25599698?uid=3737536&uid=2479783877&uid =2&uid=3&uid=60&sid=21103671809237 Walles, C, viewed 8 March 2014 http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/english/extension1/texts/elect2/3993/romanticism.htm#coleridge