Sonnets on Eminent Characters
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''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'' or ''Sonnets on Eminent Contemporaries'' is an 11-part sonnet series created by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
and printed in the ''
Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...
'' between 1 December 1794 and 31 January 1795. Although Coleridge promised to have at least 16 poems within the series, only one addition poem, "To Lord Stanhope", was published. The poems have been moderately received and emphasized for what they reveal about Coleridge's political and philosophical feelings during his early years. Within the poems, he praises 10 individuals that he treats as his heroes along and denounces two people that he feels have turned against their country and liberty. The sonnet series has been compared to
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
's addressing of sonnets to his own contemporaries in both the types of individuals chosen and the style of composition.


Background

When "To Erskine" was published in the 1 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle'', a note addressed to the editor was printed before it and read: "If, Sir, the following Poems will not disgrace your poetical department, I will transmit you a series of ''Sonnets'' (as it is the fashion to call them), addressed, like these, to eminent Contemporaries."Mays 2001 qtd p. 155 Following the poem was a note by the editor that read, "Our elegant Correspondent will highly gratify every reader of taste by the continuance of his exquisitely beautiful productions. No. II. shall appear on an early day." Many sonnets were to follow after with each addressed to different people: Edmund Burke (9 December 1794), Joseph Priestley (11 December), Fayette (15 December), Kosciusko (16 December), Pitt (23 December), Bowles (26 December), Mrs Siddons (29 December), William Godwin (10 January 1795), Robert Southey (14 January), and Sheridan (29 January). Each sonnet was numbered with a total of 11 sonnets published as ''Sonnets to Eminent Characters''. In a letter dated 11 December 1794, Coleridge told Southey that there were 10 sonnets composed and a plan for 6 more. However, he stopped at 11 by 29 January. In a letter dated 10 March 1795, Coleridge wrote to George Dyer explaining that he would write five additional sonnets for the series. Of these, only one is documented to have existed; Coleridge wrote one to Lord Stanhope, but the sonnet was never published in the ''Morning Chronicle''.Mays 2001 p. 155 The poems in the series, except for "To Godwin" and "To Southey", were printed in Coleridge's 1796 collection of poems. However, Coleridge began to doubt himself and he considered the poems more the property of Joseph Cottle, the publisher, than his own. He also felt that the poems were a failed attempt at following the style of
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
. In what possibly refers specifically to the ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'', Coleridge wrote to Thomas Poole and said "My poetic Vanity & my political Furore have been exhaled; and I would rather be an expert, self-maintaining Gardener than a Milton, if I could not unite both."


Poems

Although the poems were published as ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'' and numbered, they were not written as a set.


To the Hon Mr Erskine

"To the Hon Mr Erskine" was first published in the 1 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''. Thomas Erskine, a member of the Whig party, was a lawyer that served as a defender during the
1794 Treason Trials The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. Over thirty radicals were arrested; three were tried for high treason: Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke a ...
. Erskine, unlike others during the trial, did not accept money for his services. This was a point that Coleridge emphasized when praising Erskine as it represented a purity that Coleridge appreciated. Erskine's defense led Coleridge to consider him as among his heroes,Ashton 1997 p. 61 and the poem was written after Erskine was triumphant in his defense of those put on trial. The sonnet would later be evoked within the final issue of his political newspaper ''The Watchman'' as Coleridge describes
John Thelwall John Thelwall (27 July 1764 – 17 February 1834) was a radical British orator, writer, political reformer, journalist, poet, elocutionist and speech therapist.
, one of those Erskine defended, as successor to Erskine.


To Burke

"To Burke" was first published in the 9 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle'' and was included in Coleridge's 1796 collection of poems with a note that criticized
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
for taking a government pension. Of all the ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'', only "To Burke" and "To Pitt" are addressed to people that Coleridge disagreed with at the time of their composition. Coleridge's disagreement with Burke stems from Coleridge's support of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. To Coleridge, Burke supported oppression while disguising it with the rhetoric of "Freedom". As such, Coleridge describes Burke as a male who seeks to harm a feminine incarnation of Freedom, and that Freedom at the end of the poem wishes to restore him as a proper son. The poem also discusses Burke's genius and believes that Burke was intelligent but wrong. William Wordsworth, Coleridge's friend, would also discuss Burke's genius years later in ''
The Prelude ''The Prelude or, Growth of a Poet's Mind; An Autobiographical Poem '' is an autobiographical poem in blank verse by the English poet William Wordsworth. Intended as the introduction to the more philosophical poem ''The Recluse,'' which Wordswort ...
'' Book 7.


To Priestley

"To Priestley" was first published in the 11 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''. After a mob burned
Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
's Birmingham house during the summer of 1791, he left England for America.Mays 2001 pp. 157–158 The mob was motivated by Priestley's support of the French Revolution.Levere 1981 p. 9 Coleridge was in correspondence with Priestley at the time in order to discuss Coleridge and Robert Southey's idea of
Pantisocracy Pantisocracy (from the Greek πᾶν and ἰσοκρατία meaning "equal or level government by/for all") was a utopian scheme devised in 1794 by, among others, the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey for an egalitarian community. ...
. In general, Coleridge viewed Priestley as both a spiritual and intellectual leader, and Coleridge's political life was to spread Priestley's views after Priestley left for America. Like many of the sonnets, "To Priestley" was dedicated to an individual that Coleridge viewed as one of his heroes.Ashton 1997 p. 61 The imagery within the poem is a reversal of those within "To Burke" with an emphasis on Priestley being a defender of freedom and without flaws. Coleridge's views on Priestley appear in many of his works, including ''Religious Musings'' written at the end of 1794.


To Fayette

"To Fayette" was first published in the 15 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''.Mays 2001 pp. 157–158 In the 1796 edition of the poem, a footnote was added to line 14 which explained the connection of the poem to the events in
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...
's life: "The above beautiful Sonnet was written antecedently to the joyful account of the Patriot's escape from the Tyrant's Dungeon." Lafayette was involved in the American Revolution serving as a major-general and served in France as the commander of the National Guard between 1789 and 1791 after the Bastille fell. After the French monarch was removed, he was imprisoned in Austria and was not released until 1797. Like many of the Romantic poets, Coleridge saw those who challenged their governments in the name of liberty as a hero, which included Lafayette. The poem uses an image of the "ray", which is connected to Coleridge's poems on what an ideal society would be plus to the millennial views he expressed within his poem '' Religious Musings''.


To Kosciusko

"To Kosciusko" was first published in the 16 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''.
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
led Poland in rebellion against two countries, Prussia and Russia, during the spring of 1794. When the rebellion was crushed by that October, he was captured by Russian forces and held as a prisoner. Coleridge knew few details about the specifics, which showed in alterations of the poem. The emphasis on Kosciusko as a political prisoner that was being martyred for his beliefs connects "To Kosciusko" with "To Fayette". Coleridge discussed Kosciusko throughout his works, including a lecture series that Coleridge gave during 1795 and articles in his newspaper, ''Watchman''. The British Romantic poets favoring of Kosciusko as a hero can be traced to Coleridge, and
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centr ...
published his own sonnet on Kosciusko in 1815 with
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
following with his own in 1817. They viewed Koscuisko as a figure connected to
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
, the individual that was believed to have established English constitutional liberty.


To Pitt

"To Pitt" was first published in the 23 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''. The poem to Prime Minister William Pitt was reprinted with a small revision in Coleridge's magazine ''The Watchman'' on 2 April 1796 and included in Coleridge's 1796 collection of poems under the name "Effusion 3, to Mercy". This edition was soon reprinted in ''The Universal Magazine'' for the October 1796 edition.Mays 2001 II p. 213 Earlier in the year, Pitt used his power to suspend
Habeas Corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
in order to crack down on government opposition. This crackdown was followed by the
1794 Treason Trials The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. Over thirty radicals were arrested; three were tried for high treason: Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke a ...
, in which dissidents were charged with treason. Although Coleridge was an opponent of Pitt's at the time of writing the sonnet "To Pitt", he was to later change his mind about politics and Pitt's government. Like "To Burke", Coleridge's "To Pitt" is one of the few poems within the ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'' series that does not address one of his heroes. Both poems discuss the abuse of "freedom" along with the depiction of a male figure dominating a female image. Within the poem, Pitt is seen as Judas the betrayer with Britain as a feminine version of Christ. Coleridge took a political risk in the publishing of the poem.Holmes 1989 p. 81 However, the political ramifications and effect the poem may have had was ephemeral as the poem may not have had the influence that Coleridge would have wanted.


To Bowles

"To Bowles" was first published in the 26 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''.
William Lisle Bowles William Lisle Bowles (24 September 17627 April 1850) was an English priest, poet and critic. Life and career Bowles was born at King's Sutton, Northamptonshire, where his father was vicar. At the age of 14 he entered Winchester College, where ...
had an important role in Coleridge's early poetry; he served as a poetic model for Coleridge to follow. This influence can be traced to when Coleridge was given a copy of Bowles's sonnets in 1789. Most of the ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'' is devoted to those Coleridge considered heroes with Bowles representing poetry. Although Coleridge praises Bowles for "soft Strains", Coleridge was to turn to flashy type of poetic model as he developed as a poet. In many of Coleridge's works, he compares Bowles with other poems, such as William Cowper. However, the sonnets as a whole discussed views on politics that Coleridge held. and Coleridge emphasizes how Bowles influenced his political beliefs. In particular, Bowles provided Coleridge with the ideas of a universal brotherhood.


To Mrs Siddons

"To Mrs Siddons" was first published in the 29 December 1794 ''Morning Chronicle''.Mays 2001 p. 164
Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...
was an actress that Coleridge became aware of during his college years when he would travel to London to experience the theatre. Although it was originally printed as by Coleridge, it is uncertain as to who actually wrote the poem; it is possible that
Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his ''Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book ''Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–18 ...
wrote the poem, as he mentioned it as his in a June 1796
letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
. Later, the 1796 collection of Coleridge's letters claimed it as Lamb's, but later collections did not attribute it to Lamb. It is possible that the poem was jointly written by Coleridge and Lamb, and the poem, if Lamb's, would represent one of his earliest works. Of the subjects Coleridge discusses in the ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'' series, only Siddons and
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
represent the theatre. The poem discusses many of Siddons's theatrical roles, including her performances in various plays by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. The poem also compares Coleridge's witnessing of the performances to a child hearing stories told to him. Coleridge's feelings towards Siddons continued to be favourable and he even wrote a play that he hoped she would take a part. However, that play was not produced.


To Godwin

"To William Godwin, Author of ''Political Justice''" was first published in the 10 January 1795 ''Morning Chronicle''. Coleridge wrote to
Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...
and informed him that he wrote a sonnet about
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...
, but that it was lacking. For various reasons, including both a change of view over Godwin and his concerns that the poem was flawed, Coleridge decided to not publish the poem again in his collections. Others in Coleridge's circle also had a change of view over Godwin, but they, and Coleridge, were still interacting with and helping Godwin publish works by 1800. Like "To Bowles", "To Godwin" is a personal poem that describes the impact Godwin had over Coleridge's life.Mays 2001 p. 166 Coleridge respected Godwin's politics and his support of those put on trial during the
1794 Treason Trials The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. Over thirty radicals were arrested; three were tried for high treason: Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke a ...
, and Coleridge owed much of his political beliefs to Godwin. However, Godwin's atheism caused him concern; a dinner with Godwin and others after the composition of "To Kosciusko" led into a dispute over theology that convinced Coleridge that Godwin lacked intelligence. The poem does praise Godwin, but Coleridge continues the theological dispute that happened during their meeting by using religious rhetoric to describe Godwin, particularly in lines 9 and 10. As 1795 progressed, Coleridge supported some of the political beliefs of Godwin, but he continued to criticize his stance on religion.


To Robert Southey

"To Robert Southey, of Baliol College, Oxford, Author of the 'Retrospect,' and Other Poems" was first published in the 14 January 1795 ''Morning Chronicle''. The poem, only published once, was dedicated to the friendship that Southey and Coleridge shared. They first met during the summer of 1794 and bonded instantly. Soon after, they developed plans to form a community in America under the idea of
Pantisocracy Pantisocracy (from the Greek πᾶν and ἰσοκρατία meaning "equal or level government by/for all") was a utopian scheme devised in 1794 by, among others, the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey for an egalitarian community. ...
. They both went so far as to marry a pair of sisters. When Coleridge began to try to publish his poems, he grew distant from both his wife and Southey. Soon after this time, their idea for Pantisocracy fell apart, and the change in Coleridge's opinions on Southey is reflected in Coleridge's not republishing the poems within his 1796 collection of poems.Joseph and Francis 2004 p. 267 Like the poems in the series "To Godwin" and "To Bowles", "To Southey" talks about Coleridge's personal life and Southey's involvement in it. The poem also follows the model of Milton's sonnet on Henry Lawes ("Sonnet 13") in a similar manner of "To Bowles" and "To Mrs Siddons". Like what happened with Godwin, Coleridge grew distant from Southey, which coincided with Coleridge's emphasis on Christianity as an essential component to his political beliefs. However, even within the poem, there is no direct reference to Southey's liberal political beliefs. Instead, the poem only discusses Southey as a poet.


To Sheridan

"To Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Esq." was first published in the 29 January 1795 ''Morning Chronicle''.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
was a famous comic playwright, but Coleridge emphasized the sentimental aspects of Sheridan's writing. This is what prompted Coleridge to dedicate a poem to the playwright and not to someone else. Coleridge also knew of Sheridan as a political figure; Sheridan was a witness during the
1794 Treason Trials The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. Over thirty radicals were arrested; three were tried for high treason: Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke a ...
and also argued for the repeal of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act. The ''Sonnets on Eminent Characters'' contained many poems dedicated to those Coleridge considered his hero and Sheridan was a representative of the theatre. Like "To Erskine", Coleridge modeled his poem off of Milton's sonnet to Henry Vane ("Sonnet 17").Curran 1986 p. 35 Also, "To Sheridan" and "To Bowles" were the only representation of Coleridge's contemporaries from literature within his 1796 collection of poems.


To Lord Stanhope

Unlike the other sonnets in the ''Eminent Characters'' series, "To Lord Stanhope" was not published in the ''Morning Chronicle''. The first appearance of the poem was in Coleridge's 1796 collection of poems and not in the ''Morning Chronicle'' like the original series. The poem was dedicated to
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope, aka Charles Mahon, 3rd Earl Stanhope, FRS (3 August 175315 December 1816), was a British statesman, inventor, and scientist. He was the father of Lady Hester Stanhope and brother-in-law of William Pitt th ...
, an individual that held similar beliefs to Coleridge.Taussig 2002 p. 151 Unlike his brother-in-law Prime Minister Pitt, Stanhope supported the French Revolution. However, by the time Coleridge would have had the poem printed for his 1796 collection of poems, he changed his mind on Stanhope and the poem was not to be reprinted in later collections. However, it still was printed in the 1803 collection. In a note placed in a copy of the 1803 collection, Coleridge claims that it was a mistake that the poem was printed in the first collection of poems and a problem that it was published in the 1803 edition. Coleridge also claimed that the poem was originally to be taken ironically, but there is little evidence to support that claim as anything more than a retrospective reaction against the poem. It is possible that Coleridge wrote a poem in the 31 January 1795 ''Morning Chronicle'' addressed to Stanhope under the name "One of the People". However, attribution of the poem has been constantly argued and it cannot be definitively attributed. If the sonnet is Coleridge's, then it would show a further connection between the thoughts of Stanhope and Coleridge on a brotherhood of men, a theme that appears in the 1796 edition of the poem along with other works by Coleridge.


Critical response

An anonymous review of Coleridge's 1796 collection of poems in the June 1796 ''Critical Review'' selected "To Fayette" as an example of Coleridge's poetry, stating, "The Effusions are in general very beautiful. The following will please every lover of poetry, and we give them as a specimen of the rest". In 1901, the critic H D Traill discussed the sonnets in relation to Coleridge's other poems and claims, "The Coleridgian sonnet is not only imperfect in form and in marked contrast in the frequent bathos of its close to the steady swell and climax of Wordsworth, but, in by far the majority of the instances in this volume, it is wanting in internal weight. The 'single pebble' of thought which a sonnet should enclose is not only not neatly wrapped up in its envelope of words, but it is very often not heavy enough to carry itself and its covering to the mark."Traill 1901 pp. 23–24 Coleridge's 20th-century biographer Richard Holmes argues that, "These were all essentially ideological pieces, which caused a considerable stir in the city and made Coleridge's name generally known for the first time. As verse, they were clumsy and laboured, but Coleridge was aware of this". Stuart Curran claims that the series "return the sonnet to its assumption of public and polemical responsibilities, an area conspicuously identified in the British tradition with the achievement of Milton ..Most remarkable in the series, both for its rhetoric and its political daring, is the sonnet on Prime Minister Pitt. Suddenly appearing halfway through the series ..it recaptures accents that had not ..been heard in this form since Milton's 'On the New Forcers of Conscience' a century and a half before; nor did even Milton, for all his intensity, stretch his metaphors to such virulence".


Notes


References

* Barfoot, Cedric. ''"A natural delineation of human passions": The Historical Moment of Lyrical Ballads''. Amsterdam, Rodopi, 2004. * Colmer, John. ''Coleridge: Critic of Society''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. * Curran, Stuart. ''Poetic Form and British Romanticism''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. * Flynn, Christopher. ''Americans in British literature, 1770-1832''. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008. * Fulford, Tim. ''Romanticism and Masculinity''. New York: St Martin's Press, 1999. * Holmes, Richard. ''Coleridge: Early Visions, 1772-1804''. New York: Pantheon, 1989. * Jackson, James (ed). ''Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Critical Heritage''. London: Routledge, 1996. * Joseph, T. and Francis, S. ''Encyclopaedia of World Great Poets''. New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 2004. * Levere, Trevor. ''Poetry Realized in Nature''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. * Lindop, Grevel. "Lamb, Hazlitt and De Quincey" in ''The Coleridge Connection''. Eds. Thomas McFarland, Richard Gravil and Molly Lefebure. New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * Marshall, Peter. ''William Godwin''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984. * Mays, J. C. C. (editor). ''The Collected Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Poetical Works I Vol I.I''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. * Mays, J. C. C. (editor). ''The Collected Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Poetical Works Variorum I'' Vol I.II. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. * Pascoe, Judith. ''Romantic Theatricality''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997. * Patterson, Annabel. ''Nobody's Perfect. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. * Patton, Lewis (ed.). ''The Watchman''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970. * Roe, Nicholas. ''John Keats and the Culture of Dissent''. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1997. * Speck, W. A. ''Robert Southey: Entire Man of Letters''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. * Stevenson, Warren. ''Romanticism and the Androgynous Sublime''. Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1996. * Traill, H D. ''Coleridge''. New York: Harper, 1901. * Trott, Nicola. "The Coleridge Circle and the 'Answer to Godwin'" in ''The Coleridge Connection''. Eds. Thomas McFarland, Richard Gravil and Molly Lefebure. New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * Woodcock, George. ''William Godwin: A Biographical Study''. London: The Porcupine Press, 1989. {{Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1794 poems 1795 poems 1796 poems British poems Works originally published in the Morning Chronicle