One of the highly praised Lakeland poets, alongside his friend William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a founder of the Romantic movement in England. His work – still popular today – includes such classics as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan as well as the beautiful early poem Frost at Midnight: ‘Or if the secret ministry of frost, Shall hang them up in silent icicles, Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.’
Despite the great beauty of his work, he suffered from bouts of depression and today it is speculated he may well have had bipolar disorder. For both mental and physical ailments he was treated with laudanum which led to a lifelong addition to opium.
Coleridge’s influence was widespread – he was a major influence on Ralph Waldo Emerson – indeed, he invented the phrase suspension of disbelief. This collection is a fascinating insight into his life, as well as his work.
