Difference between William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge and Robert Southey

Literature is so vast that it is full of dramatists, novelists and poets. In the romantic era, a group of poets came forward. The similarity between them was their love for nature. Among these Romantic poets were the ‘Lake poets’. They were called so because they were born in Lake District of England. They were William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. In this article we will side by side do a comparative study of these poets that are mainly and closely related to the romantic period of 19^th century. This post will reveal the difference between William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey.

William Wordsworth versus Samuel Coleridge versus Robert Southey

A glimpse of the French Revolution and the Romantic Era

When we look at a review of the life of these romantic poets, we see that their lives were highly influenced by French revolution. When machinery, lives, literature, religion, church, society all was in vain and people started finding their identity; in this state of agony, nature was also destroyed and these  poets beautifully picked up the subjects of nature so that they can become close to the nature

How can we find a major difference between these poets? 

Well, when we talk about Coleridge, he thinks that nature is something that is to be preserved. Basically in his poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Kubla Khan’ he portrayed nature as something mysterious, full of fantasy and an imaginative source of happiness as he says, “Nature is something which leads you towards fancies.”

On the other hand, when it comes to Wordsworth, his poetic imagination is so vast that one could get baffled about what’s going on. He is famous for his famous “Lyrical Ballads”.

William Wordsworth studied the simple objects of nature and gave them the imaginative colours. It wasn’t his business to make excursions in the world of supernaturalism. It was left to Coleridge to introduce the world of supernaturalism, mystery and magic in poetry in this way. Wordsworth liked to give to the objects of Nature, the colour of his imagination. While it was left to Coleridge to make the supernatural natural.

Robert Southey was a friend of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. He produced literature unremittingly- poetry, criticism, history, biography, journalism, translations and editions of earlier writers. He, along with Coleridge, wanted to form a “Utopian Community” in Pennsylvania in the United States.

A comparison of poems: 

William Wordsworth was a nature worshipper and lover. In “Prelude” he defines nature as mother, a guide, a sister and peaceful soul. For him, man is destroying nature as he is a social animal by nature. He is supposed to preserve the nature but he himself is ruining it day by day. Wordsworth’s poems can be apprehended through various steps, like starting from physical delight leads you towards the mental delight and finally the stage of spirituality comes and knocks the door of mankind.

In contrast, when we put a glance at Coleridge’s work ‘Kubla khan’ which is famous for its vivid imagery, imaginary mountains, castle, splashing water, which is beyond the reality.

And also ‘The Rime of Ancient Mariner‘ is all related to the description of a man, who had killed the bird Albatross and is bearing the consequences which nature is giving him. He shows that how nature takes its revenge. He has shown spirits, vivid imagery and drowsiness. Here, the element of drowsiness is important as whatever he is writing is completely in the state of unconscious as if he was under the impact of Opium.

Robert Southey can be referred to as ‘Underdog’ because his poetry is hard to get into and is sometimes compared as inferior to Wordsworth and Coleridge. Southey’s works are concentrated on the common man, equality of all people, and the abolition of slavery. His poetry favoured common speech of the day. One of the most applauded work of Southey was ‘The Battle of Blenheim‘. The theme of this poem is futility of war.

Notable Works

William Wordsworth notable works are mentioned as follows:

• Lyrical Ballads-1798
• The Prelude-1799
• I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud-1807
• Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey-1798
• The Excursion and the Recluse-1814
• The World is Too Much With Us-1807
• The Solitary Reaper-1807
• We are Seven-1798
• Peter Bell-1819
• Guide to the Lakes-1810
• The White Doe of Rylstone-1815
• Resolution and Independence
• Yarrow Revisited-1835
• An Evening Walk
• The Idiot Boy-1798
• The Borderers
• The Tables Turned
• Michael-1800

S.T.Coleridge’s notable works are mentioned as follows:

• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner-1798
• Kubla Khan-1816
• Christabel-1816
• Dejection-An Ode-1802
• Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit-1840
• Fears in Solitude
• Lyrical Ballads-1798
• Sibylline Leaves-1817
• Anima Poetae-1895
• The Fall of Robespierre-1794

Robert Southey’s notable works are mentioned as follows:

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears-1837
• Thalaba the Destroyer-1801
• Curse of Kehama-1811
• Madoc-1805
• A Vision of Judgement-1821
• Joan of Arc-1796
• Letters written during a short residence in Spain and Portugal-1797

What to say now? 

Concluding, we can say that, Wordsworth was a poet who loved nature as the creation of God. He could feel a soul, a friend, a guide and a true companionship in the nature. So, he was a poet who kept secondary imagination as it also provided with the soulful effect of a nature. On the other side, Coleridge was a poet who was totally different from him. His primary imagination worked in the state of unconsciousness. Wordsworth steady nature and moral preoccupations had given effect on Coleridge’s wavering will and rambling tendencies. Yet, Wordsworth could not stop the decline in Coleridge’s poetic power, but one can say that their contribution to English was a landmark produced during the Romantic period in English poetry. Who is your favourite poet among these?