Friendship Between Wordsworth and Coleridge

The Romantic poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were close friends who sought to create a new kind of poem centered on emotions and a sort of conversation between the reader and narrator. Even though many of their poems seem to be addressed to women, they "can be read as 'fragments of an agon', moments of an agonizing struggle between two male rivals apparently friends but locked in a secret and mortal combat for the deadly right to be 'the speaker' of 'the word'," (Lauder, 2001, p. 68). To showcase their works and their new theme, they collaborated on a volume of poetry entitled "Lyrical Ballads".

There are connections that can be found between the different works of the two poets, beginning with their vigorous use of nature in an otherworldly context. In his poem "Kubla Khan", Coleridge includes nature to complete the picture of another world, or another part of the world, the East: "And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills/ Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree/ And here were forests ancient as the hills/ Enfolding sunny spots of greenery," (Greenblatt et al, 2006). 

Similarly, but of course in a contrasting way, Wordsworth's view of nature is less exotic and more tangible. In other words, Coleridge's words made nature part of a fantasy world, but Wordsworth's approach was one that the average reader could relate to. For example, in his poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,", nature is described simply but still in a way that evokes emotion; "I saw a crowd [...] of golden daffodils/ beside the lake, beneath the trees/ fluttering and dancing in the breeze," (Greenblatt et al, 2006).

One last notable connection between the works of Coleridge and Wordsworth would be their use of "I". By using "I", it is as if they are addressing the reader, or what is, more likely, a character within the poem. It is the "I" that connects the reader deeper with the narrator of the poem, creating the illusion of not just a poem, but a conversation.

References:

Greenblatt, S., et al. (Eds.) (2006). The Norton anthology of English literature (8th ed., Vol.2). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.\

Lauder, B. (2001, Winter). Secret(ing) conversations: coleridge and wordsworth. New Literary History, 32 (1), 67-89. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20057648

Honor in Poetry

Poems are written to affect different genres and different moods. Elegies, epigraphs, and friendship are common themes found in poetry. An elegy is a piece of prose that is designed to strike a sadder note, and it can be used at a funeral. Thomas Gray wrote an elegy entitled, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”. Death is apparent throughout the lines of the poem, but is most affluent in lines 83-84, “In still small Accents whisp’ring from the Ground/ A grateful Earnest of eternal Peace,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. A9).

Epigraphs are quotations, comments, or lead-ins to other literary works. An epigraph adds to a story or poem to sum up the overall theme, or it may relate to a previous work. “The Answer” is an epigraph Anne Finch wrote in response to Alexander Pope’s “Impromtu to Lady Winchilsea”. Pope’s poem makes fun of women, their wit, and most importantly, Finch’s writing capabilities: “Fate doomed the fall of every female wit,/ But doomed it then when first Ardelia [Finch’s pen name] writ,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. 2596). To counter that, Finch’s poem consists of lines like, “Alexander! have a care,/ And shock the sex no more,” and, “We rule the world our life’s whole race,/ Men but assume that right,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. 2596).

Friendship is a theme that is hard to discern, at least in Mary Wroth’s sonnet “103”. At first, the poem could be about love, or a lost love. When reading in between the lines, it becomes obvious that the narrator is describing a relationship beyond love; “Leave the discourse of Venus and her son/ To young beginners,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. 1461). Wroth is perhaps saying that passion such as new lover’s experience is not a part of the relationship being depicted.

One common thread of these four poems is honor. In their own way, each poem mentions honor as it relates to the situation in the poem. For example, Gray’s elegy says “Large was his Bounty & his heart sincere;/ Heaven did a Recompence as largely send./ He gave to misery all he had, a Tear,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. A11). The character being described is full of honor and misery, even shedding a tear in his sad state. Wroth’s form of honor in “The Answer” comes when she writes, “Our admiration you command/ For all that’s gone before,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. 2597). “The Answer” is an epigraph that demands respect of women, or the same honor that is bestowed on any man. Wroth speaks of honorable traits in her poem, like “truth, which shall eternal goodness prove,” (Greenblatt et al, 2006, p. 1461).

Greenblatt, et al. [Eds]. (2006). The norton anthology english literature (8th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.