49:
857:
113:
40:. Although Coleridge was opposed to the British government, the poem sides with the British people in a patriotic defense of their homeland. The poem also emphasizes a desire to protect one's family and to live a simple life in harmony with nature. The critical response to the poem was mixed, with some critics claiming that the work was "alarmist" and anti-British.
382:
and more admirable man, equal to
Coleridge as a mere poet – speaks with a calm force of thought and resolution; Coleridge wails, appeals, deprecates, objurgates in a flaccid and querulous fashion without heart or spirit. This debility of mind and manner is set off in strong relief by the loveliness of landscape touches in the same poem.
275:
The politics within the poem emphasizes the problems within
British politics and expresses Coleridge's views that the conservatives were warmongering and that there was corruption within the government. Although he feels this way, he still feels loyalty to the country and wants the British to be safe
64:
and believed that it would bring much-needed political change to Europe and to Great
Britain. However, the actions of the French government after the beginning of the revolution, especially their invasion of other nations, caused him to lose faith in their cause. Although Coleridge was opposed to the
396:
writes, "Coleridge still declaims against the sins of
England, and protests against the mad idolatry of national wrong-doing yet utters himself before the close with all the filial loyalty of a true son of England, and he declares in a noble strain of eloquence how the foundations of his patriotism
381:
Compare the nerveless and hysterical verses headed 'Fears in
Solitude' (exquisite as is the overture, faultless in tone and colour, and worthy of a better sequel) with the majestic and masculine sonnet of Wordsworth for, great as he is, I at least cannot hold Wordsworth, though so much the stronger
413:
Following this, Geoffrey
Yarlott states, "though disproportionate in qualities of thought and feeling (and one of the less successful therefore of the major 'annus mirabilis' poems), exemplifies the problems Coleridge had to wrestle with in assimilating didacticism to the requirements of poetic
409:
Like 'France' too, the poem suffers from a lack of 'heart'." George Watson declares that the poem "shows how precarious
Coleridge's new achievement was. It is a shameless return to the older, effusive manner, evidently written in a white heat of patriotic indignation against the degradation of
298:
view. The poem also includes
Coleridge's views on the unity of mankind and nature and the fear that an invasion would destroy this unity. To safeguard it, the narrator protects his family and the dell, along with the rest of Britain. There is also an emphasis on simple living, and the poem's
400:
During the 20th-century, Virginia Radley points out that "The most serious charge that can be brought against the poem is that it is not poetry as
Coleridge generally conceived poetry to be. In fact, it is the one poem in this group that may
69:, he supported the British nation and the national defense when France threatened to invade Britain; the belief held by many Britons was that France would invade the Irish kingdom, which was experiencing rebellion at the time.
283:
The images of the poem operate in a circular pattern, and the poem begins and ends with the Stowey dell where
Coleridge lived. The peaceful home at the beginning is a parallel to the "Valley of Seclusion" in Coleridge's
104:, removed lines that directly attacked Pitt and the British government. This change reflected Coleridge's own changing political views from radical to more conservative beliefs.
769:
418:
as "one of the most difficult of Conversation Poems". The ending, to Holmes, is "evoked with the magic, pastoral power of a Samuel Palmer picture".
1213:
286:
72:
These fears of an invasion manifested in April 1798, and Britons began to arm themselves. In April, Coleridge traveled to his childhood home at
410:
English public opinion during the French wars, and it is only by stretching charity that it can be considered a conversation poem at all."
48:
787:
801:
762:
1208:
318:
280:, describes how his view about the French Revolution changed over time, especially with France's invasion of Switzerland.
334:
described the poem as "beautiful". There were four contemporary reviews of the original pamphlet collection including
895:
364:
are, perhaps, not highly honourable to his feelings as a Briton, nor very complimentary to the national character."
144:
The poem continues by pointing out that the best life is a simple life and that there are men that live with nature:
755:
1276:
826:
340:
304:
923:
84:; during this time Coleridge wrote "Fears in Solitude: Written in April 1798, During the Alarm of an Invasion".
1218:
874:
1075:
999:
831:
992:
354:
emphasized the "beautiful lines" starting with line 129 until the end. Another review, in the January 1799
1424:
100:
It was eventually printed seven times in various collections. One of the later printings of the poem, by
909:
368:
1419:
1366:
1326:
1020:
1013:
1372:
1332:
1290:
685:
66:
164:
However, some of the British are like a plague that spreads their poor behavior to other nations:
1283:
1006:
954:
846:
778:
689:
681:
29:
290:, which is a quiet place that allows for a pleasant life. The ideas about nature also found in "
1390:
985:
1223:
841:
1319:
1297:
811:
192:
Although he attacks the corruption of British politicians, the narrator supports Britain:
8:
1414:
1262:
916:
806:
1177:
1055:
902:
388:
81:
77:
57:
25:
299:
conclusion, a return to the dell, represents a return of Coleridge to his own family.
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373:
90:
61:
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1027:
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856:
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1237:
1193:
888:
302:
The gothic elements of the poem connect it to many of his other works, including
291:
1348:
1255:
1137:
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356:
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331:
121:
96:
73:
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959:
393:
227:
101:
37:
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816:
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112:
1123:
88:
was first published in a small pamphlet collection that included
276:
regardless of their problems. His other poem on the same topic,
33:
714:
The Collected Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Poetical Works
1062:
716:
I Vol I.I. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.
350:
thought he was anti-Britain. A review in the December
226:
The poem ends with the narrator praising his home at
199:
How shouldst thou prove aught else but dear and holy
239:
Thy church-tower, and, methinks, the four huge elms
259:Love, and the thoughts that yearn for human kind.
344:believed that the poetry expressed alarmism. The
294:" are brought up, following Coleridge's familiar
1406:
1214:Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement
287:Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement
241:Clustering, which mark the mansion of my friend;
203:Thy clouds, thy quiet dales, thy rocks and seas,
521:
519:
517:
515:
247:And my babe's mother dwell in peace! With light
707:Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Critical Heritage
505:
503:
177:And, deadlier far, our vices, whose deep taint
175:And borne to distant tribes slavery and pangs,
763:
207:All sweet sensations, all ennobling thoughts,
201:To me, who from thy lakes and mountain-hills,
171:Steamed up from Cairo's swamps of pestilence,
512:
397:have been laid in the domestic affections".
330:A letter sent to Coleridge from his friends
322:, "Three Graves", and "Wanderings of Cain".
777:
500:
249:And quickened footsteps thitherward I tend,
243:And close behind them, hidden from my view,
215:The joy and greatness of its future being?
153:Religious meanings in the forms of Nature!
131:A small and silent dell! O'er stiller place
936:Introduction to the Tale of the Dark Ladie
770:
756:
251:Remembering thee, O green and silent dell!
179:With slow perdition murders the whole man,
173:Even so, my countrymen! have we gone forth
149:And he, with many feelings, many thoughts,
680:
493:
491:
489:
487:
485:
133:No singing sky-lark ever poised himself.
371:, in the Preface to the 1875 edition of
253:And grateful, that by nature's quietness
129:A green and silent spot, amid the hills,
111:
47:
257:Is softened, and made worthy to indulge
205:Have drunk in all my intellectual life,
24:, written in April 1798, is one of the
1407:
482:
392:article called "Coleridge as a Poet",
245:Is my own lowly cottage, where my babe
213:Whatever makes this mortal spirit feel
751:
737:. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1966.
414:organization." Richard Holmes claims
211:All lovely and all honourable things,
124:setting before moving onto politics:
1209:The Nightingale: A Conversation Poem
723:. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1966.
691:The Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
325:
700:Coleridge: Early Visions, 1772-1804
675:The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
209:All adoration of the God in nature,
197:O native Britain! O my Mother Isle!
151:Made up a meditative joy, and found
13:
255:And solitary musings, all my heart
14:
1436:
896:Monody on the Death of Chatterton
742:Coleridge and the Abyssinian Maid
237:And now, belovéd Stowey! I behold
855:
60:, was an early supporter of the
1277:The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
827:Person on business from Porlock
654:
645:
636:
627:
618:
609:
600:
591:
582:
573:
564:
555:
546:
537:
528:
305:The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
16:Poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1219:This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison
875:The Destruction of the Bastile
473:
464:
455:
446:
437:
428:
308:, "Ballad of the Dark Ladie",
32:. The poem was composed while
1:
1000:Lines Written at Shurton Bars
667:
169:Like a cloud that travels on,
43:
993:Lines on an Autumnal Evening
924:The Ballad of the Dark Ladié
7:
702:. New York: Pantheon, 1989.
624:Jackson 1995 vol. 2, p. 184
615:Jackson 1995 vol. 2, p. 152
606:Jackson 1995 vol. 1, p. 238
597:Jackson 1995 vol. 1, p. 237
67:prime minister William Pitt
10:
1441:
910:Pain: Composed in Sickness
832:Coleridge's theory of life
709:. London: Routledge, 1995.
694:. Oxford University Press.
677:. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997.
497:Coleridge 1921 pp. 256-263
369:Algernon Charles Swinburne
1367:Christabel Rose Coleridge
1341:
1307:
1232:
1175:
1072:
1021:Poems on Various Subjects
1014:Ode on the Departing Year
973:
945:
864:
853:
794:
785:
730:. New York: Viking, 2006.
712:Mays, J. C. C. (editor).
686:Coleridge, Ernest Hartley
270:
65:British government under
56:Coleridge, a radical and
1373:Ernest Hartley Coleridge
1291:Time, Real And Imaginary
744:. London: Methuen, 1967.
682:Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
421:
360:, claims, "The author's
332:Robert and Edith Southey
181:His body and his soul!
1393:(nephew and son-in-law)
1007:On Receiving an Account
955:The Fall of Robespierre
847:Suspension of disbelief
779:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
721:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
479:Holmes 1989 pp. 201–202
434:Ashton 1997 pp. 133–134
120:The poem begins with a
107:
76:and then went to visit
52:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
30:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1391:Henry Nelson Coleridge
986:The Destiny of Nations
384:
268:
224:
190:
162:
142:
117:
53:
1224:To William Wordsworth
842:Romantic epistemology
561:Radley 1966 pp. 53–54
443:Mays 2001 pp. 468–469
379:
232:
194:
166:
146:
126:
115:
51:
36:threatened to invade
1320:Biographia Literaria
1284:The Devil's Thoughts
386:In a September 1889
1263:Hymn Before Sunrise
917:Songs of the Pixies
740:Yarlott, Geoffrey.
651:Yarlott 1967 p. 117
552:Yarlott pp. 117–120
367:The Victorian poet
341:The Critical Review
1425:Conversation poems
1056:To the River Otter
903:On Quitting School
812:Albatross metaphor
735:Coleridge the Poet
719:Radley, Virginia.
673:Ashton, Rosemary.
660:Holmes 1989 p. 194
588:Holmes 1989 p. 201
579:Ashton 1997 p. 153
570:Ashton 1997 p. 124
543:Sisman 2006 p. 225
534:Ashton 1997 p. 134
525:Holmes 1989 p. 202
470:Ashton 1997 p. 209
452:Ashton 1997 p. 136
389:Fortnightly Review
118:
82:Dorothy Wordsworth
54:
26:conversation poems
1400:
1399:
1379:Herbert Coleridge
1361:Hartley Coleridge
1355:Derwent Coleridge
1298:The Knight's Tomb
1204:Frost at Midnight
1199:Fears in Solitude
1189:Dejection: An Ode
1035:Religious Musings
698:Holmes, Richard.
642:Watson 1966 p. 71
633:Radley 1966 p. 54
509:Radley 1966 p. 53
416:Fears in Solitude
336:Fears in Solitude
326:Critical response
314:Frost at Midnight
91:Frost at Midnight
86:Fears in Solitude
62:French Revolution
21:Fears in Solitude
1432:
1420:Christian poetry
1309:Biographical and
1166:To Lord Stanhope
1028:Sibylline Leaves
960:Remorse (Osorio)
859:
772:
765:
758:
749:
748:
733:Watson, George.
705:Jackson, James.
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661:
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461:Mays 2001 p. 469
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1396:
1385:James Coleridge
1369:(granddaughter)
1337:
1312:
1310:
1303:
1241:
1238:Lyrical Ballads
1235:
1234:Late poetry and
1228:
1194:The Eolian Harp
1182:
1179:
1171:
1081:
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1068:
978:
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969:
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889:Easter Holidays
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352:Monthly Visitor
328:
319:The Nightingale
292:The Eolian Harp
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1349:Sara Coleridge
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1256:France: An Ode
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1138:To Mrs Siddons
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1042:To a Young Ass
1038:
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989:
981:
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977:Bristol poetry
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745:
738:
731:
728:The Friendship
726:Sisman, Adam.
724:
717:
710:
703:
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357:Monthly Mirror
347:British Critic
327:
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310:France: An Ode
278:France: an Ode
272:
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262:
233:
218:
195:
184:
167:
156:
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116:Quantock Hills
109:
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97:France: An Ode
45:
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15:
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6:
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2:
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975:Cambridge and
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789:
788:List of poems
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761:
759:
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743:
739:
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612:
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417:
411:
408:
404:
398:
395:
394:Edward Dowden
391:
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265:lines 221-232
260:
231:
229:
228:Nether Stowey
221:lines 182-191
216:
193:
182:
165:
154:
145:
134:
125:
123:
114:
105:
103:
102:Daniel Stuart
99:
98:
93:
92:
87:
83:
79:
75:
70:
68:
63:
59:
50:
41:
39:
38:Great Britain
35:
31:
27:
23:
22:
1402:
1327:The Watchman
1325:
1318:
1275:
1268:
1247:
1236:
1198:
1178:Conversation
1117:To Kosciusko
1103:To Priestley
1074:
1054:
1047:
1040:
1033:
1026:
1019:
1012:
1005:
998:
991:
984:
935:
929:
866:Early poetry
837:Organic form
822:Pantisocracy
741:
734:
727:
720:
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706:
699:
690:
674:
656:
647:
638:
629:
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611:
602:
593:
584:
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557:
548:
539:
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475:
466:
457:
448:
439:
430:
415:
412:
406:
402:
399:
387:
385:
380:
372:
366:
361:
355:
351:
345:
339:
335:
329:
317:
313:
309:
303:
301:
285:
282:
277:
274:
234:
230:and nature:
225:
196:
191:
168:
163:
148:
143:
128:
119:
95:
89:
85:
71:
55:
20:
19:
18:
1311:other works
1159:To Sheridan
377:, argues,
187:lines 47–53
159:lines 22–24
1415:1798 poems
1409:Categories
1381:(grandson)
1375:(grandson)
1351:(daughter)
1270:Kubla Khan
1249:Christabel
1152:To Southey
1110:To Fayette
1089:To Erskine
1078:Characters
1049:To Fortune
882:Dura Navis
817:Lake Poets
802:Early life
668:References
374:Christabel
44:Background
1387:(brother)
1333:Notebooks
1145:To Godwin
1131:To Bowles
807:Opium use
296:Plotinian
139:lines 1–3
122:Quantocks
1096:To Burke
684:(1912).
263:—
219:—
185:—
157:—
137:—
1124:To Pitt
1076:Eminent
965:Zapolya
688:(ed.).
78:William
58:Jacobin
1342:Family
795:Topics
407:is not
271:Themes
235:
74:Ottery
34:France
1363:(son)
1357:(son)
1180:poems
1063:Lewti
947:Plays
422:Notes
362:Fears
931:Love
405:but
403:mean
108:Poem
94:and
80:and
28:by
1411::
514:^
502:^
484:^
338:.
316:,
312:,
1300:"
1296:"
1293:"
1289:"
1286:"
1282:"
1265:"
1261:"
1258:"
1254:"
1168:"
1164:"
1161:"
1157:"
1154:"
1150:"
1147:"
1143:"
1140:"
1136:"
1133:"
1129:"
1126:"
1122:"
1119:"
1115:"
1112:"
1108:"
1105:"
1101:"
1098:"
1094:"
1091:"
1087:"
1065:"
1061:"
938:)
934:(
926:"
922:"
919:"
915:"
912:"
908:"
905:"
901:"
898:"
894:"
891:"
887:"
884:"
880:"
877:"
873:"
771:e
764:t
757:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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