Introductory Note |
|
Introductory Note
Introductory Note
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was the tenth child of a Devonshire
clergyman, and the most distinguished member of one of the most intellectual
stocks in modern England. His life was devoted to literary and philosophical
pursuits, but an inherent weakness of will and lack of practical sense made
him depend upon friends and benefactors for a large part of the support of
himself and his family. In poetry he achieved his greatest distinction, and
the best of his work stands at the head of its class. But he was constantly
planning great schemes which he usually abandoned before they were carried
out, and in spite of the extraordinary nature of his endowments he never
fulfilled his promise.
In prose his chief work was in philosophy and esthetics. He was one of
the first to introduce into England the philosophy of Kant, and in literary
criticism he stands in the front rank. Probably no interpreter of Shakespeare
has said so many memorable and penetrating things in illumination of the
characters of the great dramas; and in the present essay he shows his power of
dealing with profound philosophic insight with the fundamental principles of
art.
|
