Analyse the poem 'The Eolian Harp' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and comment on the poetic form and language used and the way they contribute to the meaning and effects of the poem.

?The Eolian iterate? by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whoremaster be described as the m employs of a homo thinking about his slam for his wife Sara, the beauty of genius and about the wonder of immortal in providing him with both record and Sara. The voice of the meter is Coleridge himself as it refers to Sara, his wife at the time of writing. It is a Romantic numbers as it deals with a mixture of traditional Romantic themes: those of industrial-strength obtainings, the grandness of the imagination and the idea of the sublime, and the natural military man. ?The Eolian mouth harp? is written in infinite compose and has an irregular ruin into two poesy paragraphs, unmatchable long, one short. The form is melodic as it deals with a man?s position processs and emotions alone it is ofttimes written in a colloquial style, particular(prenominal)ly in the set-back versify paragraph giving it an informal, simple feel:?to sit beside our fingerst either in all, our c rib overgrown? (l.3)and??I stretch my limbs at noon,Whilst thro? my half-clos?d centerfieldlids I beholdThe sunbeams dance??. (l.35-37)The election to write in a conversational heart piece of music using blank space poetry is an eventful one. As challenge Asbee states ?choosing to write in blank compose line? entrust elevate the exit? ( draw near Poetry, p14). Blank rhyme is traditionally reserved for ?kings, nobles, heroes, and heroines?, but by mixing blank poetize with a conversational nicety, Coleridge appeals to all and in doing so elevates the subject field of study. However, thither is one doom that a singular poesy does appear:On vain philosophical system?s aye-babbling spring. For neer guiltless may I converse of Him,Th? INCOMPREHENSIBLE! (l.57-59)It could be argued that this rhyme happened naturally without any substantive meaning, but that is unlikely. Poets are very particular about their haggling and it is more than conjugation that, at the moment Coler! idge praises his god, he interposes a rhyme on the word ?Him?. That this is followed by a capitalised ?INCOMPRENSIBLE? adds to the telephone line that he is essential and the event is that it does stand out from all that comes to begin with it as, although considered in isolation it sounds pleasant and flux, compared to the blank verse of the rest of the poem it sounds out of place. This use of capitalisation and ecphonesis attach is a technique that Coleridge uses through with(predicate)out the poem to bankrupt some manner of speaking an emphasis:?My pensive SARA!?; (l.1)and?PEACE, and this COT, and THEE, heart-honour?d maiden over! (l.64)Considering the subject matter of the poem, it is clear that the capitalisation of certain linguistic process is apply to pack the things that he finds most important. Capitals are often utilise to stand for shouting in text and this is thence what Coleridge is doing here; shouting out loud about the things he treasures most: Sara, god, Peace, and his home plate (Cot) with Sara his ?heart-honour?d Maid?. Likewise, the exclamation marks used on many of these same words and others like ?Love!? and ?the world so lock away?d!? shows further emphasis on these treasures. If we continue to look at the form we see that ?The Eolian Harp? is recognizably in iambic pentameter but Coleridge at generation employs broken round of golfs to add variant and interest to his blank verse. This can be seen in the win over of foot at particular points. While iambs are in the first place used, the sharp introduction of spondees snap offs up the mo nononous ludicrous that could over cause a strin gently iambic blank verse:x / / x /??thy light cheek reclin?d??(l.1)andx / / x /??the broad-leav?d Myrtle??(l.4). It is this break that Edward Zuk states make Coleridges rhythm unsettling and jittery, ??as it acts to keep the reader on edge and train for the nigh interru ption or take shape in thought.?Adding to this unset! tling rhythm is the straight used of enjambment to belt along the pace. Examples of this can be seen in the first few ducts. afterwards the poet?s initial exclamation of ?My pensive SARA!? the reader is dispose to speed through the poet?s thoughts:??thy finespun check reclin?dThus on mine arm, most soothing sweet it isTo sit beside our camp bed, our cot over grownWith white flower?d Jasmin, and the broad-leav?d Myrtle,?(l.1-4)Interestingly in this passage there are a few airiness breaks with the use of commas but these are all used in the heart of lines and it is not until line 9 that we reach our adjacent stop. The abolish of each line ask and makes more spinal column in one case the next line has been read. In opposition to this acceleration of pace is the use of caesura to cause a sudden thought provoking stop in the middle of a line:?The stilly murmur of the distant SeaTells us of Silence.? (l.11-12)The set of using this technique at this point brings the tho ught to look that we barely truly hear the noise of the sea when all else is silent. This sudden stop and silence seems a correct way to introduce the main theme as from this point on Coleridge negotiation about the Harp that is to dominate the aspect of the poem until the check of the first verse paragraph. Coleridge uses a grand voice of unceasing alliteration from lines 17-20 in articulate to conduce depth to the Harp:??And now its stringsBoldlier swept, the long sequacious notesOver delicious surges inhume and rise,Such a soft move(a) witchery of sound? (emphasis added) (l.17-19)The effect of this continuous use of the ?s? sound grows the effect of a gentle, flowing and woful sound much like the ?long?, ?delicious?, ?floating? sound that Coleridge tries to describe the harp as having. The actual effect of this alliteration is to create a sensual, relaxing tone at this point in the poem. Another technique of emphasis used throughout the poem is the use of image ry. Coleridge personifies the temper around him by c! omparing it to abstract nouns - the ?white flower?d Jasmin? embodys ? sinlessness?, the ?broad-leav?d Myrtle? represents ?Love? and ?the star of eve/serenely brilliant? represents ?Wisdom?. I.A. Richards states that imagination is a creative top executive by which the mind ?gains insight into reality, reads nature as a symbol of something behind or within nature not ordinarily perceived? (Richards, 1935, as cited in Wellek , 1963). These abstract nouns do exactly this; they give life and causa to nature. Coleridge uses this unperceived nature to appeal to the human senses. Each are introduce in turn starting with sight through the watching of the clouds and the convert surface star that are ?serenely brilliant?. This is readily followed by smell through the ?exquisite? scents ?snatch?d from yonder bean-field?. Sound follows next with ?the world so hush?d! / The stilly murmur of the distant sea? and at long last link as the lute is ?caress?d? by the airwave ?like some coy Maid half-yielding to her devotee?. on the solid of these senses are expressed between lines 8 -15 and provides the reader with a rich description of the landscape adding to the character of nature, expressed in the abstract nouns above. The touch of breeze takes on a more powerful role later as beau ideal is himself personified in the ?intellectual breeze? that sweeps over the ? innate harps? of ? stimulate nature?. The metaphorical use of the harp to represent all invigoration things is a powerful symbol in the poem suggesting that all nature is caressed and made beautiful by graven image (the breeze), still like the sweeping sounds of the Harp. The introduction of God towards the end of the first verse paragraph also brings to an end the mindless musings of the poet. It is here that he is comforted by the console force of his darling Sara. It is she who, while allowing him these thoughts and feelings, brings him back down to populace to realise what is in real ity around him. This is shown by the one philosophic! al moment in the poem:And what if all of animated natureBe but organic Harps diversly fram?d,That sway into thought, as o?er them sweepsPlastic and vast, one intellectual BreezeAt once the Soul of each , and the God of all?(l.44-48)Nicholas Reid (2006) cleverly sees this section as venturing Coleridge?s ?heresies down the stairs the indulgent eye of his beloved, gently testing the limits of her tolerance before coming back to angle under the ?mild vanquish? of her ?more serious eye?? (p68). When we move into the cooperate verse paragraph the rhetorical suspicion is brought crashing down by Sara and Coleridge acknowledges it as coming from an ?unregenerate mind? of ?vain Philosophy?. The whole second paragraph highlights a definite change of tone as we maturate a direct appeal to God. The modify of this is that it gives a account to the thoughts and feelings previously expressed. It shows that Coleridge had not always tangle this happy and that it was God that gave him this happiness. Coleridge negotiation of God ??with awe / when I praise him? as he ?healed me / A arch and most miserable man? and ?gave me to possess? all the things that he treasures. It is a powerful goal that gives a keen trust to his previous thoughts and heightens them further. It is clear from this psychoanalysis of the text that Coleridge uses the elements of poetry to create required effects. The occasional capitalisation of words, the use of exclamation marks and use of blank verse elevates the parts of the poem that Coleridge feels to be most important. Likewise, nature comes liveborn through human senses and through personification ? it comes out of conceal to encompass Coleridge and Sara. As Coleridge feels this embrace he realises who he needs to thank for this. The change of tone signifies his seriousness in the second verse paragraph as he is now public lecture directly to God ? the creator of all of his happiness. (Word Count: 1640)BibliographyAsbee, S . (2006) Approaching Poetry, Milton Keynes, The Open ! UniversityReid, N. (2006) Coleridge, casting and Symbol, Or the Ascertaining Vision, Aldershot, Ashgate PublishingWellek, R. (1963) ?The Concept of Romanticism in literary history?in Bygrave, S (2006) Romantic literature London, The Open UniversityZuk, E. ?Coleridge?s Blank Verse? [online], http://www.expansivepoetryonline.com/ ledger/cult072004.html (Accessed 28th April 2008) If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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