Instructions:Select the correct answer.
How does Samuel Taylor Coleridge's work differ from William Wordsworth's?
Answers
Samuel Taylor Coleridge is often discussed in association with his peer, William Wordsworth. This is due in part to their friendship and joint ventures on works such as Lyrical Ballads. Although he is often “paired” with his counterpart Wordsworth, there are several differences in Coleridge’s poetic style and philosophical views. Coleridge’s poetry differs from that of Wordsworth, and his association with Wordsworth overshadows Coleridge’s individual accomplishments as a Romantic poet. In addition, Coleridge’s poetry complicates experiences that Wordsworth views as very simple and very commonplace. Samuel Taylor Coleridge has a poetic diction unlike that of William Wordsworth, he relies more heavily on imagination for poetic inspiration, and he also incorporates religion into his poetry differently. Coleridge’s different views, combined with his opium addiction, led to an eventual breach in his friendship with Wordsworth – a friendship that had begun in 1797.
Although Coleridge and Wordsworth did not meet until the year 1797, they were familiar with one another’s work prior to that date. As early as 1793 Coleridge had read the poetry of Wordsworth, and he was specifically drawn to the political elements of his poem Descriptive Sketches. Their first meeting occurred in 1795 atBristol during a political debate. Not much is documented about Wordsworth’s first impressions of Coleridge, but upon meeting him in 1795 he’s recorded as mentioning, “I wished indeed to see more [of Coleridge]- his talent appears to me very great” (Newlyn, 5). Their friendship truly began to flourish when Coleridge visited Wordsworth in March of 1797 at Racedown, and after that visit the two had a much closer relationship and communicated with one another regularly.
Despite any difference, the two poets were compatible because they were both “preoccupied with imagination, and both [used] verbal reference in new ways”(Newlyn, 31). In 1798 the publication of their joint effort, Lyrical Ballads, signified the height of their relationship. This came at a time when they were together in Alfoxden, where they had enjoyed the simple pleasures of spending time together, discussing ideas, and devising schemes for publications. “Never again would the two poets have the sort of compatibility which allowed for major differences of opinion, without creating unease”(Newlyn, 34).
Following this time period, their friendship began to slowly deteriorate; beginning with criticisms of each other’s poetry, then growing into conflicting views on creativity and intellect, and finally culminating in a “radical difference” of “theoretical opinions” concerning poetry (Newlyn, 87). However, their friendship could have been spared, had Coleridge not been misinformed by Basil Montagu that Wordsworth referred to him as a “burden” and a “rotten drunkard”(Romanticism, 448). That was the last straw, and had deeply upset Coleridge, who was by this point addicted to liquid opium and very sensitive about the topic. Thus, after 1810 their friendship would never be the same, and although Wordsworth and Coleridge had once been compatible, and are often paired together as Romantic poets, it was ultimately their distinguishable differences that led to their falling out.