Young Coleridge and the philosophers of nature / Ian Wylie

Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1989. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine cloth copy in a near-fine, very slightly edge-nicked and dust-dulled dust-wrapper. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; x, 176 pages ; 23 cm. Notes; Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents; The ancient tradition of knowledge; wrestling with the spirit of Newton; the elect band of patriot sages; how natural philosophers defeated the Whore of Babylon; nature and the language of God; ""Religious Musings"" - ""a desultory poem""?; the vital question; poetry of generation and decay. Summary; As a young man, Coleridge lived in an era of great social change. The political upheavals in America and France, Britain's Industrial Revolution and man's rapidly expanding knowledge of the natural order had a profound effect on his work. From 1795 Coleridge speculated that natural philosophers would transform society, and looked to scientists such as Franklin in the United States, Lavoisier in France and Priestley in England to inaugurate the Age of Reason. This book charts Coleridge's speculations on science and society through the critical years 1794-1796. It explains how his complex poem ""Religious Musings"" became the vehicle for his ideas, and shows how these views were incorporated in the poetry of his later years. Subjects; Coleridge, Samuel Taylor 1772-1834 � Political and social views. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor 1772-1834 � Knowledge � Science. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor 1772-1834. � Religious musings. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor � Studies. � Religious musings. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor 1772-1834 � Philosophy. 18th-19th centuries. Literature and science � Great Britain � History � 18th century. Philosophy of nature in literature. Social problems in literature. Science in literature. Literature and science � England � History � 19th century. Philosophy of nature. Romanticism � England � History and criticism. Science � History � 19th century. Science � Philosophy � Early works to 1800. Poetry in English � Coleridge, Samuel Taylor � 1772-1834 � Special themes, Science. Literary studies: 19th century ; History of ideas, intellectual history. English. POETRY / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh. LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General. SCIENCE / Chemistry / Analytic.