Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Selected Poems

From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up-This skillful introduction opens with an overview of Coleridge's life and poetry, followed by 18 works (or parts of works). Engell includes many of the English poet's most significant pieces, although "Dejection: An Ode"-important enough to mention in the introduction-is omitted. The notes and footnotes (defining obscure terms) accompanying each poem will be helpful to readers tackling the poet's challenging work. Chan's enchanting paintings embellish the text and do a nice job of capturing the mood of the poetry without dominating it. A useful but small index concludes the book. Little material for younger students focuses on Coleridge, making this a useful purchase for any collection.Julie Roach, Malden Public Library, Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Reviewed with books on Wordsworth and Yeats in the Poetry for Young People series.Gr. 6-10. The editors of these handsome collections in the Poetry for Young People series have chosen well, bringing together about 20 of each great poet's most accessible, compelling poems, with selections that range from Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and Yeats' stark, dramatic "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death." The full-color paintings on each page are beautiful. Each volume begins with a helpful general biography and a critical introduction to the poet's work. On the page with each poem, brief editorial notes provide useful context and guidance (if only the notes were at the back of the book, so that the reader could first enjoy a poem free of commentary). In fact, the book design is a problem, especially in the Yeats book. Harrington's impressionistic art is lush and beautiful, evoking the Irish landscapes, fantasy worlds, and stormy emotions of the verse; but the large pictures leave no space for readers to imagine what the words suggest, and much of the type is hard to read because it's printed right on the dark, full-page paintings. In the Coleridge and Wordsworth collections there is a lot more white space, and the illustrations evoke each poet's world without totally overwhelming the verbal images. None of this classic poetry is easy reading, and all three books will work best for reading aloud and group discussion. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was educated at Christ's Hospital, London and Jesus College, Cambridge. Close collaboration with Wordsworth resulted in joint production of the volume Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which contained Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', signposting the Romantic movement. After wintering in Germany in 1797-8 he settled in the Lake District, where he wrote the 'Letter' that turned into 'Dejection: An Ode' (1802). In later years Coleridge turned increasingly to prose, covering philosophical, political, religious and critical subjects, although new poems continued to appear in most years until his death.


From the Publisher
Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards.


About the Author
John Beer's work on Coleridge includes two books, Coleridge the Visionary and Coleridge's Poetic Intelligence, the editing of a collection of essays, Coleridge's Variety, and the preparation of an edition of Aids to Reflection for Coleridge's Collected Works. He is also general editor of the series Coleridge's Writings and has written on a variety of other authors, including Blake, Wordsworth and E.M. Forster.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

From the time he was very young, Coleridge hoped he would be remembered as a poet; masterpieces such as "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Kubla Khan," and "Frost at Midnight" assured that his dream would come true. These verses, and the 32 others in this extraordinary collection, testify to the genius and power of his writing. From the time Coleridge produced his first volume of poetry in 1796 till his death in 1834, he created works as diverse as "The Eolian Harp," which begins as a sweet love poem but by the end becomes something much more; "To a Critic," a sharp rebuke to those who cruelly tear apart and misinterpret the poet's work; and the unfinished narrative verse, "Christabel."


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices