Characteristics of Coleridge Poetry

Coleridge is the co-founder of the Romantic Movement with Wordsworth. As we find Wordsworth in a love with nature, Coleridge is known for his supernaturalism. His poetic career is short but replated with outstanding poems. In 1796, he printed his initial volume of poems on varied subjects. Coleridge’s best works are predominantly of two types, Supernatural Poems: like “Kubla Khan” “Christabel” and “The Rime of Ancient Mariner”. These poems are a glorious example of romantic imagination. The few characteristics that distinguish poet from others are supernaturalism, an element of mystery, fertile imagination, dream quality, medievalism, love of Nature, humanism, music and narrative ability. Let's discuss them in brief one by one.

Supernaturalism:  As we know, Supernaturalism can't be explained by celebrated laws and observations. This element is found within the three major works of the poet, widely acclaimed and known as ‘The Ancient Mariner’, ‘Kubla Khan’ and ‘Christabel”. He's capable of composing the still, dejected music of humanity. In his supernaturalism, we don't tend to notice any crudeness as is found in different poets, like Horace and Monk Lewis. He replaced the crudeness with suggestiveness. Instead of portraying horror, he prompts it. The supernatural drama of the ‘The Ancient Mariner’ catches hold of the readers’ subconscious mind. This is, however, noteworthy that he makes the component of supernaturalism a part of a wider theme which is intimately associated with living human expertise.

T.S.Coleridge’s love for supernatural linked him to the exploration of Middle Ages. He was fascinated by the romance and legends related to them. The glamours of Middle Ages shines through “The Ancient Mariner” “Christabel” and “Kubla Khan”. However, it ought to be kept in mind that he does not draw the substance of his poems from Medievalism. It offers him an extensive sense of remoteness and provides a match setting for the marvellous that is Coleridge’s purpose to hint at. Another fundamental component is Mysteriousness. Mysteriousness is that condition within which some character, event or state of affairs remains hidden and isn't disclosed to the common understanding. It's not completely eminent in his work, however, makes its presence feel to the individuals. we are able to simply notice this component in three of his poem; ”Kubla Khan”, “Christabel” and “The Rime of the Traditional Mariner”.

Fertile and striking imagination is another vital characteristic of his poetry. He had the talent college of viewing such unseen and inexperienced things vividly as if those had been virtually present before his eyes. He comes up with the place of Kubla Khan’s palace as he himself was present there. His description of how Kublai Kaan commanded a palace to be designed and a stately garden thereunto, enables us to have a vivid image of Kubla Khan’s stately pleasure dome. As stated by Greek critic Longinus, a good author is the one who has the potential of transporting the reader to his own imaginative world. Coleridge, no doubt, was blessed with this quality. Not solely this, he had the rare ability to form the dream-like world. He further modifies this dreamlike by reworking on it to a create a make-belief condition. The atmosphere created by Coleridge in‘The Ancient Mariner’ is the best example of this. It is his imagination which easily remodels easy facts into something mysterious and marvellous. Dreams with him aren't any shadows. they're the terrible substance of his life. He ate up his dreams and revive them in his poems. ‘Kubla Khan’ is actually a dream poem based on what the poet dreamt one night.

Coleridge is considered a nature poet as well. He shows for Nature equally same devotion as we discover in Wordsworth. However, it is rightly observed that he takes more pleasure in those aspects of Nature that may manifest a dramatic and mysterious look. In his earlier perspective towards Nature, he had followed the doctrine of accepting nature as an ethical teacher, however, later on, he derived a belief that it's us who tend to invest Nature with life, and nature merely reflects our own moods. Coleridge’s musical genius will best be seen in poems such as ‘The Ancient Mariner’, ‘Christable’, ‘Kubla Khan’ and ‘Youth and Age’. ‘The Ancient Mariner’ has woven crafty sound patterns with the assistance of rhyme or of clever use of alliteration:


“The ice was here, the ice was there
  The ice was all around
  It cracked and growled, and roared and howled
  Like noises within the swound!”

The rhythmic quality of ‘Christable’ and ‘Kubla Khan’ creates a hypnotic spell around its readers. He is great within the art of storytelling. He is aware of the way to produce suspense or to evoke interest within the narrative. In ‘The Ancient Mariner,’ he invests the Mariner with a hypnotic power so as to boost our curiosity in his story. And he introduces his events intensely dramatically. The dropping down of his 200 sailor companions one by one when the killing of Albatross and their souls going out creating a whizzing sound of the crossbow produces an awful dramatic impact. The wedding guest’s interruptions are used to point out the crucial moments. All such techniques equip this poem with matchless narrative beauty.

The above-mentioned characteristics of Coleridge poetry make him different from the other romantic poets and locked in his high position amongst them.