The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Vol 2 (of 2) — Context and Discussion

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Authors: Coleridge, Ernest Hartley, 1846-1920 [Editor], Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 1772-1834 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2009 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: English poetry -- 19th century Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 226,630

Reading time 986 min

Text sections 67

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This volume collects Coleridge's dramatic works, including 'Remorse' and translations of Schiller's 'Wallenstein,' with editorial apparatus by his grandson. The excerpts reveal his use of stage directions, metrical variation, and revision history.

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d's tongue? And Brissot's thoughtful soul unbribed and bold? Did zealot armies haste in vain to save them? 60 What! did th' assassin's dagger aim its point Vain, as a _dream_ of murder, at my bosom? And shall I dread the soft luxurious Tallien? Th' Adonis Tallien? banquet-hunting Tallien? Him, whose heart flutters at the dice-box? Him, 65 Who ever on the harlots' downy pillow Resigns his head impure to feverish slumbers!

_St. Just._ I cannot fear him--yet we must not scorn him. Was it not Antony that conquer'd Brutus, Th' Adonis, banquet-hunting Antony? 70 The state is not yet purified: and though The stream runs clear, yet at the bottom lies The thick black sediment of all the factions-- It needs no magic hand to stir it up!

_Couthon._ O we did wrong to spare them--fatal error! 75 Why lived Legendre, when that Danton died? And Collot d'Herbois dangerous in crimes? _I've_ fear'd him, since his iron heart endured To make of Lyons one vast human shambles, Compar'd with which the sun-scorcht wilderness 80 Of Zara were a smiling paradise.

_St. Just._ Rightly thou judgest, Couthon! He is one Who flies from silent solitary anguish, Seeking forgetful peace amid the jar Of elements. The howl of maniac uproar 85 Lulls to sad sleep the memory of himself. A calm is fatal to him--then he feels The dire upboilings of the storm within him. A tiger mad with inward wounds!--I dread The fierce and restless turbulence of guilt. 90

_Robespierre._ Is not the Commune ours? The stern tribunal? Dumas? and Vivier? Fleuriot? and Louvet? And Henriot? We'll denounce an hundred, nor Shall they behold to-morrow's sun roll westward.

_Robespierre Junior._ Nay--I am sick of blood; my aching heart 95 Reviews the long, long train of hideous horrors That still have gloom'd the rise of the Republic. I should have died before Toulon, when war Became the patriot!

_Robespierre._ Most unworthy wish! He, whose heart sickens at the blood of traitors, 100 Would be himself a traitor, were he not A coward! 'Tis congenial souls alone Shed tears of sorrow for each other's fate. O thou art brave, my brother! and thine eye Full firmly shines amid the groaning battle-- 105 Yet in thine heart the woman-form of pity Asserts too large a share, an ill-timed guest! There is unsoundness in the state--To-morrow Shall see it cleans'd by wholesome massacre!

_Robespierre Junior._ Beware! already do the sections murmur-- 110 'O the great glorious patriot, Robespierre-- The _tyrant guardian_ of the country's _freedom_!'

_Couthon._ 'Twere folly sure to work great deeds by halves! Much I suspect the darksome fickle heart Of cold Barrere!

_Robespierre._ I see the villain in him! 115

_Robespierre Junior._ If he--if all forsake thee--what remains?

_Robespierre._ Myself! the steel-strong Rectitude of soul And Poverty sublime 'mid circling virtues! The giant Victories my counsels form'd Shall stalk around me with sun-glittering plumes, 120 Bidding the darts of calumny fall pointless.

[_Exeunt caeteri. Manet COUTHON._

_Couthon (solus)._ So we deceive ourselves! What goodly virtues Bloom on the poisonous branches of ambition! Still, Robespierre! thou'lt guard thy country's freedom To despotize in all the patriot's pomp. 125 While Conscience, 'mid the mob's applauding clamours, Sleeps in thine ear, nor whispers--blood-stain'd tyrant! Yet what is Conscience? Superstition's dream, Making such deep impression on our sleep-- That long th' awakened breast retains its horrors! 130 But he returns--and with him comes Barrere. [_Exit COUTHON._

_Enter ROBESPIERRE and BARRERE._

_Robespierre._ There is no danger but in cowardice.-- Barrere! we _make_ the danger, when we _fear_ it. We have such force without, as will suspend The cold and trembling treachery of these members. 135

_Barrere._ 'Twill be a pause of terror.--

_Robespierre._ But to whom? Rather the short-lived slumber of the tempest, Gathering its strength anew. The dastard traitors! Moles, that would undermine the rooted oak! A pause!--a _moment's_ pause?--'Tis all _their life_. 140

_Barrere._ Yet much they talk--and plausible their speech. Couthon's decree has given such powers, that--

_Robespierre._ That what?

_Barrere._ The freedom of debate--

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This second volume of the Oxford edition, prepared by Coleridge's grandson Ernest Hartley Coleridge, gathers the poet's dramatic works alongside a substantial appendix of epigrams and occasional verses. The editorial apparatus—textual notes, variant readings, and stage directions—offers a window into Coleridge's compositional process. In the excerpt from Remorse, for instance, the stage direction for the altar fire to take 'suddenly' and the 'illuminated picture' of assassination reveal a playwright attentive to visual spectacle. The textual notes further show that Coleridge revised key lines: 'quiet' became 'yellow' in one instance, and 'a human eye' replaced 'an eye of flesh,' suggesting a shift toward more abstract diction.

Diction and Revision in <em>Remorse</em>

The textual apparatus for Remorse (first performed in 1813) documents Coleridge's careful word choice. In Act IV, Scene I, the line 'quiet' is altered to 'yellow' in later editions, a change that intensifies the visual quality of the description. Similarly, 'a human eye' replaces 'an eye of flesh,' moving from the corporeal to the more universal. The stage direction 'Alvar (to Teresa anxiously)' is added in later editions, clarifying the character's emotional state. These revisions suggest Coleridge refined his language to heighten psychological tension and symbolic resonance.

Metrical and Structural Choices

Coleridge's dramatic verse employs varied metrical patterns. In the excerpt, Teresa's speech uses enjambment and caesura to convey agitation: 'When first I entered this pure spot, forebodings / Press'd heavy on my heart.' The chorus of demons shifts into a shorter, more incantatory rhythm: 'Wandering demons, hear the spell! / Lest a blacker charm compel—' This metrical contrast underscores the conflict between sacred and profane. The editor's notes also indicate hemistitches—metrical lines shared between speakers—which Coleridge used to create rapid dialogue exchanges.

Stage Directions as Theatrical Blueprint

The stage directions in Remorse are unusually detailed, functioning almost as a director's guide. The altar fire 'takes fire suddenly,' and the 'illuminated picture' appears and is 'hidden by ascending flames.' These instructions indicate Coleridge's interest in spectacular effects, perhaps influenced by Gothic drama. The textual notes show that later editions added directions such as 'Music expressive of the movements and images that follow,' emphasizing the integration of sound and action. Such details suggest Coleridge conceived the play as a total sensory experience.

The Editor's Role: Ernest Hartley Coleridge

Ernest Hartley Coleridge, the poet's grandson, provides extensive textual and bibliographical notes that trace the evolution of each work. For Remorse, he records variants from the first edition (1813) through the 1829 edition, allowing readers to see how Coleridge revised his language. The editor also notes the inclusion of previously unpublished poems in the appendices. His scholarly apparatus—including line numbers, stage-direction variants, and a list of corrections—makes this edition a valuable resource for studying Coleridge's creative process.

Readers approaching this volume should attend to the textual notes as much as the poems themselves; they reveal a poet constantly reworking his language. The dramatic works, particularly Remorse and the Wallenstein translations, show Coleridge experimenting with stagecraft and metrical variety. The appendices of epigrams and occasional verses offer a lighter counterpoint to the tragedies. This edition invites a comparative reading of variant lines to appreciate Coleridge's craft.

There are evenings when Coleridge’s stage directions feel less like instructions and more like remembered shadows, the way he keeps revising what his characters should see. It reminds me of a particular quiet hour in the Happy Days — Reading Companion, where the prose simply lets a room breathe. I think we all carry such margins, half-annotated, almost spoken.