Over the past two weeks, we have read works by both Wordsworth and Coleridge. All of the poems that we have read by these two poets share many of the same ideals that are set forth in “Preface to Lyrical Ballad”. In this blog post we will be examining the similar ideals within “Preface to Lyrical Ballad” and Coleridge’s “This Lime-tree Bower me Prison”.
Coleridge’s “This Lime-tree Bower me Prison”uses powerful language in reference to nature to evoke positive emotion into the readers. This powerful language comes, in part, from the poet’s ability to celebrate ordinary life more than the average man; a trait that Wordsworth believes is a distinguishing trait that poets must possess. These ideas shine through in “Preface to Lyrical Ballad”.
“This Lime-tree Bower me Prison” consists of observations that took place in a garden due to an injury that prevents the poet from going out on a walk with his friends. The poet talks about the nature around him with a fiery passion that excites the readers and their imaginations. Coleridge explains the world as he sees it. He does not go above and beyond making the details seems beautiful. Instead he describes the little beauties that catch his eyes as he sees them. Such as the way he tells the sun to “slowly sink / Behind the western ridge, thou glorious Sun!” (Coleridge). This simple way of describing nature falls into par with Wordsworth’s primary objective in the poems that he collected for his lyrical ballads as discussed in his work “Preface to Lyrical Ballad”.
Wordsworth also believed in creating poems with language that was in line with the way the common man spoke. Coleridge seems to use a mix of common mans and more proper English in his poem. “This Lime-tree Bower me Prison” seems to be a mix of poetic type language due to the abbreviations used in words such as “dimm’d” and “o’erwooded” to help the physical form of the poem. However, he also uses common man’s language to describe the vast majority of the beautiful, natural world around him. Although there are many similarities among Wordsworth’s “Preface to Lyrical Ballad” and Coleridge’s “This Lime-tree Bower me Prison”, each writer’s unique style shines through, giving each work and their accompanying ideals a unique fingerprint. Both works focus on the beauty of nature and how it interacts with the human world. Both men capture the beauty that accompanies the age of romanticism beautifully.
Brit Lit 2020 