Skip to main content

A Story About Coleridge

File:SamuelTaylorColeridge.jpg


This is a quote from a memoir by Dorothy Wordsworth, reflecting on a trip she took with two famous poets, her brother, William Wordsworth, and their similarly gifted companion, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
 


We sat upon a bench, placed for the sake of one of these views, whence we looked down upon the waterfall, and over the open country ... A lady and gentleman, more expeditious tourists than ourselves, came to the spot; they left us at the seat, and we found them again at another station above the Falls. Coleridge, who is always good-natured enough to enter into conversation with anybody whom he meets in his way, began to talk with the gentleman, who observed that it was a majestic waterfall. Coleridge was delighted with the accuracy of the epithet, particularly as he had been settling in his own mind the precise meaning of the words grand, majestic, sublime, etc., and had discussed the subject with William at some length the day before. “Yes, sir,” says Coleridge, “it is a majestic waterfall.” “Sublime and beautiful,” replied his friend. Poor Coleridge could make no answer, and, not very desirous to continue the conversation, came to us and related the story, laughing heartily.


----------------


Now: what is the point of this story?  what is it that bothered and/or amused Coleridge about his new friend's second remark?




The problem, if I understand it, is that the anonymous fellow used the terms "sublime" and "beautiful" as if they were synonyms. To the Romantics, especially the more lettered of them (those who would be reading Kant on aesthetics for example) "sublime," like "majestic," could very well refer to a waterfall. But "beautiful"? That was a very different category, intended for smaller sorts of things. "Beautiful" as they understood the term has more in common with "pretty" than with "sublime."




I can't say I agree with the memoirist that the incident reflects Coleridge's good nature, though.

Labels:

Comments

  1. HenryDecember 27, 2013 at 8:11 AM

    Christopher,

    I do not dispute your interpretation, but I see Coleridge as having been upset for a more general reason as well--a reason that could apply today or at any period in addition to the Romantic era. Being a poet, Coleridge was precise in his use of language, and, when the other gentleman used "majestic," Coleridge considered it apt and was pleased. But then, when the gentleman indiscriminately threw two other adjectives at him, Coleridge realized that he was not conversing with another lover of language, and he was disappointed.

    I do not see Coleridge's ending the conversation as reflecting an ill nature. Dorothy Wordsworth's "Poor Coleridge" suggests that he was genuinely distressed, not that he was ill natured.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HenryDecember 27, 2013 at 8:39 AM

    I also wonder whether Coleridge was associating the gentleman's "Sublime and beautiful" with Edmund Burke's "A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful." I have not read that book; nor am I aware of Coleridge's opinion of it or of Burke. Perhaps someone can say whether I have noticed something more than a coincidence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HenryDecember 28, 2013 at 9:41 AM

      Perhaps the gentleman was not consciously quoting Burke, but did so unconsciously because the title of Burke's book was in the air, so to speak. If so, then it would not be profitable to pursue a possible Burkean connection.

      Delete
    2. HenryApril 15, 2017 at 7:22 AM

      Perhaps Coleridge saw "majestic" and "sublime" as inconsistent.

      Delete
    3. HenryApril 15, 2017 at 7:36 AM

      And the fact that he saw them as inconsistent caused him to lose his admiration for the man's use of "majestic." He realized that the man was throwing adjectives around, speaking loosely and not with precision.

      Delete
  3. Spam LeadsAugust 7, 2020 at 4:25 PM

    Hello Everyone !

    USA SSN Leads/Dead Fullz available, along with Driving License/ID Number with good connectivity.

    All SSN's are Tested & Verified.

    **DETAILS IN LEADS/FULLZ**

    ->FULL NAME
    ->SSN
    ->DATE OF BIRTH
    ->DRIVING LICENSE NUMBER
    ->ADDRESS WITH ZIP
    ->PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL
    ->EMPLOYEE DETAILS

    *Price for SSN lead $2
    *You can ask for sample before any deal
    *If you buy in bulk, will give you discount
    *Sampling is just for serious buyers

    ->Hope for the long term business
    ->You can buy for your specific states too

    **Contact 24/7**

    Whatsapp > +923172721122

    Email > leads.sellers1212@gmail.com

    Telegram > @leadsupplier

    ICQ > 752822040

    ReplyDelete
  4. mitchellbuyshousesDecember 26, 2020 at 11:46 AM

    Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative
    Cash house buyers in East lake Florida

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shannon MackleJuly 3, 2024 at 6:21 AM

    GLAD TO WIN MY (EX) BACK AFTER BREAKUP, VIA.... DR_MACK (@Y AHO O.) CO M

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kamil ZajacOctober 9, 2024 at 3:29 AM

    If you’re looking for reliable Industrial Asbestos Removal in Melbourne, it’s crucial to choose a certified team that prioritizes safety and compliance. Proper removal not only protects workers but also ensures a healthier environment. Always opt for experienced professionals!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Searle: The Chinese Room

John Searle has become the object of accusations of improper conduct. These accusations even have some people in the world of academic philosophy saying that instructors in that world should try to avoid teaching Searle's views. That is an odd contention, and has given rise to heated exchanges in certain corners of the blogosphere.  At Leiter Reports, I encountered a comment from someone describing himself as "grad student drop out." GSDO said: " This is a side question (and not at all an attempt to answer the question BL posed): How important is John Searle's work? Are people still working on speech act theory or is that just another dead end in the history of 20th century philosophy? My impression is that his reputation is somewhat inflated from all of his speaking engagements and NYRoB reviews. The Chinese room argument is a classic, but is there much more to his work than that?" I took it upon myself to answer that on LR. But here I'll tak...
17 comments
Read more

Recent Controversies Involving Nassim Taleb, Part I

I've written about Nassim Taleb on earlier occasions in this blog. I'll let you do the search yourself, dear reader, for the full background. The short answer to the question "who is Taleb?" is this: he is a 57 year old man born in Lebanon, educated in France, who has been both a hedge fund manager and a derivatives trader. He retired from active participation from the financial world sometime between 2004 and 2006, and has been a full-time writer and provocateur ever since. Taleb's writings for the general public began where one might expect -- in the field where he had made his money -- and he explained certain financial issues to a broad audiences in a very dramatic non-technical way. Since then, he has widened has fields of study, writing about just about everything, applying the intellectual tools he honed in that earlier work. As you might have gather from the above, I respect Taleb, though I have sometimes been critical of him when my own writing ab...
4 comments
Read more