The Lover and the Masochist
From the outside, Wordsworth and Coleridge seem incredibly different--almost too different to be classified in the same category. Wordsworth was definitely the most stereotypical Romantic poet of the two, but keep in mind that Romanticism is not the same thing as how we use the word "romantic" today. A poet who practiced Romanticism wasn't simply love poems--it's an emphasis on emotional and imaginative spontaneity. Wordsworth remarks on this himself in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads: "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." This is very true in Wordsworth's poetry--his poetry is highly focused on nature and innocence and childhood. It evokes a sense of tranquility. Coleridge, on the other hand, does not. My favorite poem of his is "Pains of Sleep" (Well, that's not true. My favorite of his poems is a mathematical proof that equilateral triangles exist), and in "Pains of Sleep", it is far from an "emotion recollected in tranquility." In fact, it's the opposite. It's even in the title: "the Pains of Sleep." Yes, the poem is an overflow of emotion, but its an overflow of fear and dread and despair.
However, Wordsworth and Coleridge are incredibly similar. They both evoke strong emotions even though those strong emotions are different. Wordsworth's poetry leaves you longing for a simpler life and a relaxing walk through nature whereas Coleridge's poems draw you into his desire for adventure or relief, and you can feel his pain through his vivid imagery. Wordsworth glorifies and praises nature constantly which I guess leads to my question: does Coleridge glorify and praise pain?
PS I commented on Trey and Abigail's posts.
However, Wordsworth and Coleridge are incredibly similar. They both evoke strong emotions even though those strong emotions are different. Wordsworth's poetry leaves you longing for a simpler life and a relaxing walk through nature whereas Coleridge's poems draw you into his desire for adventure or relief, and you can feel his pain through his vivid imagery. Wordsworth glorifies and praises nature constantly which I guess leads to my question: does Coleridge glorify and praise pain?
PS I commented on Trey and Abigail's posts.
I don't think it is as much a glorifying of pain as it is an obsession, or maybe even a stage of life. There are plenty of books of the Bible that focus on pain (i.e., Job, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Jeremiah) because the authors are going through a tough stage of life. Wordsworth tries to draw attention to nature and its beauty, while Coleridge draws attention to pain and its hideousness. I would classify his poems more as "raising awareness," not praising pain.
ReplyDeletePain is often a very strong inspiration for poetry. The longing for a loved one, the search for meaning, regrets from the past, etc. If a person has experienced much pain, I agree with Sophia, it can become an obsession. John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a fine example of this. His pain knowing how he feels and that he will never be able to be with his beloved permeates his work. I can relate to Coleridge and Keats because of my life experiences. Wordsworth seemed almost like a dream to me.
ReplyDeleteI see your point about Coleridge. I think I enjoy his work more because of the story that it tells and the pain that I can feel in the midst of it. The thing that I get stuck on, is what is the point of his using pain to tell the story? In the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" Coleridge uses the mariners pain to paint a picture of the wedding guest. But why? I think it was to teach him how to love.... maybe?? So maybe he does praise pain, but only in the way that it changes people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael; Wordsworth's work seems like a dream. I would add and say a daydream, but then Coleridge's work is almost like one of his own poetic nightmares. I would say yes, that Coleridge does glorify pain. He uses pain as the main (sometimes only) emotion for his poems and treats it as though it is the strongest emotion of them all, therefore glorifying it. He writes in a way that implies if you haven't gone through pain you can't experience true, raw emotion; which I believe to be praising pain and giving it too much credit. So yes, I would say he does.
ReplyDeleteIn a sense I think you could say that Coleridge glorifies pain, if you are using the term glory in a way of magnifying this very specific emotion. But I like to think it is more a realism, and acceptance to enter into pain; an emotion that all experience, but not many accept to explore. A poem allows a way in which to do such an exploration that is both healthy and growing.
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