A collection of research on the European reception of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), the major Romantic poet and author of "The Ancient Mariner" one of the best known poems in British literature.
First published in 1979, this book provides thorough a guide through Coleridge’s diverse body of work, looking not just his poetry but also his literary criticism and theories, plays, political journalism and theory, and writings on religion and philosophy. The author is careful to avoid emphasising one aspect of his work over another and consequently the whole emerges as a richer, more complete body of thought — less esoteric and more concerned with the world. It challenges the notion of the ‘damaged archangel’, showing he was a successful playwright, long-standing contributor to one of the foremost papers of the day and a literary figure of note in touch with leading thinkers and writers.