Romanticism: Coleridge

Few writers in English can claim so diverse a genius as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Author of some of the best known poems in the language and Wordsworth's collaborator in Lyrical Ballads, he was also a profound critic, a philosopher, a political commentator, a psychologist, a nature writer, an autobiographer, and the greatest talker of his age.

The best of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poems in a beautiful new gift edition Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was educated at Christ's Hospital, London and Jesus College, Cambridge. Close collaboration with Wordsworth resulted in joint production of the volume Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which contained Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', signposting the Romantic movement. After wintering in Germany in 1797-8 he settled in the Lake District, where he wrote the 'Letter' that turned into 'Dejection: An Ode' (1802). In later years Coleridge turned increasingly to prose, covering philosophical, political, religious and critical subjects, although new poems continued to appear in most years until his death.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, critic, and radical thinker, exerted an enormous influence over contemporaries as varied as Wordsworth, Southey and Lamb. He was also a dedicated reformer, and set out to use his reputation as a public speaker and literary philosopher to change the course of English thought. This collection represents the best of Coleridge's poetry from every period of his life, particularly his prolific early years, which produced The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Christabel, and Kubla Khan. The central section of the book is devoted to his most significant critical work, Biographia Literaria, and reproduces it in full. It provides a vital background for both the poetry section which precedes it and for the shorter prose works which follow. There is also a generous sample of his letters, notebooks, and marginalia, some recently discovered, which show a different, more spontaneous side to his fascinating and complex personality. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.