International Journal of Language & Literature

The Interplay of Faith and Imagination: An Analysis of Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Dr. Lourdes Joavani J.

Abstract
The nineteenth century occupies a remarkable place in literary history, as it was an era in which a literary revolution took place alongside social and economic revolutions. The early years of the French Revolution and the industrial revolution that took place paralleled revolutions in the political order. In the 19th century painful divisions were felt as the scientific, rational thought did little to satisfy the emotional needs of the individual, while actively corroding the religious beliefs of the individual. Poets like Coleridge rose against these increasingly rationalistic and skeptical tendencies and served as reflectors and generators of faith. The changing social, cultural and philosophical trends are mirrored in a very exquisite manner in the poetry of the age. And my objective is to evaluate the changing responses of such a thinker like Coleridge to these basic issues, as reflected in his poetic language. For this study, I have analyzed the stylistic devices such as the figures of speech, images and symbols employed by the poets of the nineteenth century in order to yield significant interpretation of their work. Apart from doing a linguistic analysis, an attempt has also been made to do a cultural analysis of a wide rubric-of the various trends and movements of the era, which affected the philosophy, ideals and attitudes of these poets. Such an in-depth linguistic and cultural analysis of faith and reason in the nineteenth century is pertinent, as the same question has also been debated in India.

Full Text: PDF