Patrick McEvoy-Halston

English382lF0l
Dr. Kim G. Blank
28 Novernber2002

From Humble(d)Beginnings
' As a boyrSamuel
Taylor Coleridgewasbadlybullied. His brotherFrankbullied him

becausehe thoughtSamuelwastheir mother's favouriteson. Samuelbecame"fretful" and

"timorous" (Weissman110). Shunnedby otherboysfor beinga sissy,Samuelreadbooksabout

adventuresandplayfully actedout the tales. But his father,believingthat Samuelwas too

overwhelmedby the books' scaryparts,burnt the books. This Coleridgewasunderstandably

pleasedafterwriting'oThisLime-TreeBowed'because"Lime-Tree"wasan imaginativeattempt

to shapehis boyhoodmiseriesinto a boon.6owever, Coleridgehad onceboth turnedthe tables

on his brotherandsuccessfullybravedan eveningaloneoutsidehis home. And this Coleridge,

the personhe might havebeenhadhe not beenbullied, the onewho ttroughtof himself aswild

andfree, is the personhe tried to 'tecovetr"in subsequent

poefiry.Throughfirst rejecting(in the

re-writeof "Lime-Tree" andin'.Frost at Midnight') the accommodating

toneandthe self-

deceptivestanceof "Lime-Tree," Coleridgeregainsthe will in "France: an Ode" to onceagain

braveplacing himself outsidebeforea threateningnight sky. Out there,outside,Coleridge

claimsliberty from all '!risons," self-imposedandothennrise.

In "Lime Tteei Coleridgecharacterizes

himselfas"lame," "faint," and"lonely." He

pretendsthat this status,the conseque,lrce

hereof Sarahspilling hot milk on his foot, is unusual.

The normohe pretends,was for him to roarnaboutwith friends. But Coleridgegrew up denied

the outdoorplay that othersindulgedin. His brotherFrankintimidatedhim until he becamethe

sortof percon--asissy--thatotherboyswould havenothingto do with (Weissman110). He

compensated
by readingadventurestories;but his father,"disliking the effect [ . . . ] which these

bookshadproduced"(Coleridge,"DearestPoole" 346-50),burntthe booksjust asSarahburns

Coleridge'sfoot in "Lime-Tree." {olendge hadhis wholechildhoodto persuadehimselfthat

 2

'tevelation" in "Lime-ftee" is betterunderstoodasa

deprivationis a goodthing, so his

capitulationto the statusimposeduponhim by boyhoodbullies than asian enlightenment.But

of himself in the
Coleridgepenned"Lime-Tree" preparedto repudiatethe "lame" represe,lrtation

poemasisomeonewhosenattral companyis the hornless,stingless,hunrble-bee.

Perhapsbuoyedby his friendshipwith the "greatman" Wordsworth,ffid certainly

his brotherwith a knife, Coleridgealters

building on the onenight asa boy he hadthreate,ned

"Lime-Tree" in the re-write so that he seemsmore coillmandingthan accommodating.The

acconrmodatingColeridgein the first versionis the onewho discoversvirtues in "narrow"

places,andwho statesthat "sometimes/ [t]is well to be bereavedof promised_gogd,/ [t]hat we

(ltV i;* *lr l
may lift the soul and contemplate[ . . . ] thejoys we cannotshare." The commandingColeridge

is the onewho in the re-write altersthe dell his friendsexploreso that it becomesawe-inspiring

andthreatening.

In the original versionthereis a'tifted dell, wheremanyan ash/ [t]wists its wild limbs

besidethe ferny rock." In the re-writethereis a "roaringdell, o'erwooded,nalrow t . . . ] [and]

deep." In the originalversionhe imagineshis friendsonly "look[ing]" into the dell; the re-write

hasthem'\rinding down" into it. The resultof ttris alterationis thatwhe,nColeridgeaddresses

[Ds
the sun,clouds,grove, andoceaqhe seems to bc command$! theseelementsto do battle with

suchas"[r]ichlier burnnye
the dell. Despiteall of the exclamationmarksendingstateme,nts

clouds!"and"kindle, thoughblue ocean!"in the first version,becausehe hasnot evokedthe

imageof a threateningdell, Coloidge's addressseemsmore a wistful plea for natureto tend to

his long suffering friend CharlesLanrbthan a cofirmandto rescuehim from threatening

r'/
surroundings.The referenceto his friend's deprivedstatusasa city-dweller is still therein the

by the more evocativeandprovocativedell.

re-write, but it is ove,lrvhelmed
bJ*"
Larnbobjectd to being describedin "Lime-Tree" asa "gentle" city-dweller tlat needed
 3

'tescuing," andaskedthat Coleridgechangehow he charactenzedhim

in subsequentversionsof

the poem(Wu 458). Coleridgenevercompliedwith his friend'srequest;instead,he leavesout

,r,/

his own self-descriptionas"lame," "lonely," and"faint" in the re-write. The removalof these

words is appropriate,for in the re-write Coleridgeactsin sucha way that he no longerwarrants

being describedasthe humanequivalentof the humble-bee.

Coleridge,while he commandsnature,doesnot in the re-writeusurphis bower-prison.

What he doesdo is ituliri". the word'tlsurp" in the text, which only addsto the many

exclamationmarksin the poema disturbanceto thepoem'smeditativemood. Coleridgedoes

not usurp'lrisons" in "Frost at Midnighf' either,but he makesclearin this poemthe real reason
L./'
he chosenot to do so in "Lime-Tree."

As wasthe casein "Lime-Tree,"Coleridgeis deniedaccessto '!laymate[s]" in "Frost at

Midnight." Unlike "Lime-Tree,n'heboldly addresses

ratherthancamouflages
his perpetual

boyhoodexperienceof being"dr[iven] t . . . I from play " ('DearestPoold'346-350). What

keepshim "imprisoned" in "Frost at Midnight" is not an accident,but ratherthe "stern

preceptor's[intimidating] fae'e."And ratherthan discoveringthat thereis "[n]o sceneso narrow

but may well employ / [e]achfacultyof sense,atrdkeepthe heart/ [a]waketo love and

beauty,"in "Frost at Midnight" 'harrod' scenesleadinevitablyendro resticted happiness.

"Cloister[ed]"living is not redeemedin this poemby discoveringvirtue in deniedpleasures.

Instead,Coleridgeis regretful that he "saw noughtlovely [as a child] but the sky andstars
'/ l''

(emphasisadded)."

In "Frost at MidniSrt;Coleridge hopest@tlns sonwill not be confinedto narow scenes

his sonwill '\vander[epiclandscapes]

ashe oncewas. He hopestinsteadrttrat like the breeze."

However,becausehe refersto the night sky asthe only redemptiveele,lnenthe knew as a boy,

Coteridgemay alreadybe preparingto '\randed' aboutawesomeenvironmentshimself.

 4

Coleridge'ssoleexperienceasa child of usurpingbullies andenduringoutsidedangersinvolved

spendingan eveningalonebeforethe night sky. Thoughit may havebeenonly oneoccasion,

Coleridgehad on this occasionknownwhat it wasto fight back'fuithout runningbackto his

mother,t . . . ] provinghe wasno sissyor tattletale"(WeissmanI 18). He ran outsidehis home

andendureda "dreadfulstormynighf' (Coleridge,"Dear Poole" 352-356),provinghe could

his fatherthoughthim incapableof. And in 'oFrance:An Odei'

handlethe fearsomeexperiences

Coleridgeleaveshis bower-prisonbehindto wind his 'lnoonlight way'"[t]hrough gloomswhich

neverwoodmantrod."

Coleridgebegins"France: An Ode" with an apology: he mustapologizeto naturefor

confrollingit in the re-writeof "Lime-Tree." The cloudshe hadcommandedto 'tichlier burn" in

Lime-Treebecomethe cloudsthat "no mortalmay conftol." The woodsthat he hadthe "ancient

ivy' '!Sg{p," now are"impe,rious"andmasterthe wind. Coleridgehasno interestherein the

"sweetsounds"and"pleasingshapes"of naturethathadinspiredcapitulationin "Lime-Tree."

He is insteadintenton rediscoveringamidstthe'1ude shape[s],andwild unconquerable

sound[s]"of naturethe obstinacy,the will to refuseto "[y]ield homage"to thosewho would

cnrtailhis freedom.V

He doesnot exempthimself. Coleridgerepudiatesin "France: an Ode'othosewho are

"[s]lavesby their own compulsion[,]t . . . I [who] wearthe name/ [o]f freedomgravenon a

heavierchain." He likely is thinking of himselfhere--orat leastthe Coleridgewho pretendedin

'ol-ime-Tree"that deprivationcanleadto '\ris[dom],"
"pur[ity]," andhappiness.This Coleridge,

who usedhis imaginationto transfonna prisoninto a holy site,neededno sterneyeto keepin

place. Nor shouldhe havefearedpunishment:he waswilling to pretendthatphysical

-
incapacitationcanbe a goodthing.

The Coleridgein "France: An Ode" shouldexpectpunishment--but

this Coleridgewas
not intimidated. Standingbeforenaturehe declaresthathe will not be anyone'sslave. But

because,despitethe certaintyof punishment,he had still asa boy managedto defu brother,

father,andmother--thosewho had,aswith Saratrin "Lime-Tree," madehim into a pitiful home-

body--Coleridgehad alreadylearnedthat "obstinacyvanquish[es][ . . .] fears"("DearPoole"

352-356). r/

By rediscoveringthis insight--amoreprofounddiscoverythan anythinghe found in the

bower-prison--outside
beforea night sky, Coleridgealsorecovef,s
what he hopesis his true self;

"Oh Liberty, [he proclaims,]my [fiue] spirit felt thee@!" (emphasisadded).

(1390words) t/-

Works Cited

Coleridge,SamuelTaylor. "DearPoole." 16 October1781. CollectedLettersof Samuel

TaylorColeridge.Ed. E. LGrigg. Vol. 1. Oxford: ClarendonPress,

1956.

"France: An Ode." Romanticism:An Antholoey. 2nd ed. Ed. DuncanWu 465-468.

Malden: BlackwellPublishers,
1998.

"Frost at Midnight." DuncanWu 462-465,

'My DearestPoole." 9 October1797. E. L. Gritr

"This Lime-TreeBowerMy Prison." DuncanWu 458-459,551-552.

Weissman,Stephen.His Brother'sKeeper: A Psychobiography

of SamuglTaylor Coleridge.

Madison: InternationalUniversitiesPress,1989.

Wu, Duncan,ed. Romanticism:An Anthology

u.

d^""7
- )
t1 U't.^
' t
'(^ ' Urt"- q;
O
rLT-*
L
i,sf"/-
L
L
, - fC-l*.tf.L;
o- ,tL src ?t"fi-
W 3
e@'
 (1 -

?att , c k- tr'tc€va-l- l/a,tsi-v..t h,,o X;:, "(c,y=E-

writer's name course#/assi #lMte
MARzuNGGRID Comments(put correctionsdirectly on to the paper as

Writlng Checklist well)

no separatetitle page orlilqrk!--Cited

" sheet followed

methodologyand/or point of view and/or

ive handledoka

researchmaterialsused applqp44!g!

c thesis or clear direction of

'
Overall commentsand summary: DJo
n
u u e- /-o l*-- on
^rnl(.

se 'N/A" if the checklistitem is not applicableto ft

November4,2OO2 @C.f. Blank, English Dept., University of Victoria, 2001-03

 '(
7so---'
nment #ldate marker's name

MARKING GRID comments (put corrections directly on to the paper as

well)
Writing Checklist

no seDaratetitle pageor Works Cited

nA t'1". 2-"(
correct Works Cited/doculqg4latlon
tation/format okay (seecQqqg-oqllne
word limit stated
word limit k

"Blank's Writing Quirks" sheetfollowed

{y'.*ro9q\"Ovt''tzt-ct S
metnoaologyand/or point of view and/or
ive handled oka
critical Derspective
/y10W rt'v.tt4rafll4 rr'tl.&:i
ific examplesused
close"reading" skills dglqA4strated
researchmaterialsused

ific thesisor cleardirectionof fr Patrn

'+ar
all oarasraphs point to thesis/on topic
rf2 Dv;
conclusioninteresting/appropriate/expansirc
or Du+fr,A2-3pY<3(rc '^1)
andsummary: .{lv."l+>^ toassignmen
Ir applicable
overallcomments W l'r dr*f+ , ruljf rw,rtlt^ ^r'J
Vp*, idir "tt"o,4U- in box
putmarldassessment

flJse'N/A" if the checklistitem dnot aDplic$

November4,2002 @c.r. Blank, English Dept., university of Victoria, 2001-03