The First Poem to Coleridge: a Dialogic Reading of Intimations

about

In "The First ‘Poem to Coleridge’: A Dialogic Reading of Wordsworth’s ‘Intimations’ Ode," Richard Gravil offers a profound exploration of William Wordsworth's famous poem, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood." This essay delves into the dialogic relationship between Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, revealing how the Ode served as a complex response to Coleridge's own philosophical and poetic concerns. Gravil examines the reception of the Ode by notable figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Gerard Manley Hopkins, highlighting its impact on both sides of the Atlantic. Through detailed analysis, the essay uncovers the intricate philosophical arguments within the poem, addressing themes of immortality, memory, and the sublime. This scholarly work is essential for readers interested in Romantic literature, poetic dialogue, and the intellectual exchanges between Wordsworth and Coleridge.

author

Richard Gravil was Secretary of the Wordsworth Conference Foundation and Director of the Summer Conference 2007-2010, and of the Wordsworth Winter School. He wrote Romantic Dialogues: Anglo-American Continuities, 1776-1862 (2000), of Wordsworth's Bardic Vocation, 1787-1842 (2003), and of Wordsworth and Helen Maria Williams; or, the Perils of Sensibility (2010). He edited or co-edited nine books, including collections of essays on Coleridge, Swift, Wordsworth, Anglo-American Poetry and Nineteenth Century Fiction.