William Lisle Bowles (September 24, 1762 - April 7, 1850) stands as one of the more intriguing transitional figures in English literature, occupying the liminal space between Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Though his reputation has diminished considerably over the centuries, Bowles's influence on major Romantic poets—particularly Samuel Taylor Coleridge—establishes him as a crucial bridge between literary eras. As a…
“This may serve in some measure to obviate the common remark on melancholy poetry, that it has been very often gravely composed, when possibly the heart of the writer had very little share in the distress he chose to describe.”
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Devotional Poets, Love Poets, Nature Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Spirituality
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born on 21 October 1772 in Ottery St Mary, Devon, and died on 25 July 1834 at Highgate, near London. He occupies an unusual and commanding place in English literary history: he was at once one of the makers of Romantic poetry, a revolutionary critic of Shakespeare and poetic language, a philosophical mediator between German idealism and English thought, a political journalist, a religious…
“To be happy in this world, especially to be happy in marriage, is not merely a matter of blind chance.”
Neighbourhood:
Dramatic Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Nature Poets, Political Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Wonder, Spirituality, Longing
