Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 - 1834

Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 - 1834

Coleridge's life was afflicted by his addiction to opium, maybe due to medical treatment. In 1797 he met Wordsworth, and this was the beginning of the period of intellectual collaboration that produced Lyrical Ballads. He was more interested than Wordsworth in supernatural and exotic themes. The years from 1799 and 1810 were full of worries for him: already married, he fell in love with Wordsworth's sister and he took increasing quantities of opium; he also quarrelled with his greatest friend.

He threw himself into literary and intellectual activity: he produced his Biographia Literaria, two collections of poems and philosophical and theological essays. In his last years, he even reconciled with Wordsworth and with his wife.

Texts:

● The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (part 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and summary of parts 5 and 6)

● Kubla Khan