Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Born: October 21, 1772
Died: July 25, 1834
Samuel Taylor Coleridge tells us that poetry works to awaken the “mind’s attention from the lethargy of custom, and directing it to the loveliness and the wonders of the world before us; an inexhaustible treasure, but for which in consequence of the film of familiarity and selfish solicitude we have eyes, yet see not, ears that hear not, and hearts that neither feel nor understand.” The best poetry does this for us: It awakens us to reality.
Coleridge was born on October 21, 1772. The youngest of 10 children and the son of an Anglican priest, he spent his formative years reading fairy tales. While many are perhaps most familiar with Coleridge as the author of the poems “Kubla Khan” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” he was also something of a theologian.
More about Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge—a poet with prophetic voice
How we look at the world around us matters.
What ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ can teach us about the Amazon synod
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Image: Wikimedia Commons
