Dejection: An Ode - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
/Dejection: An Ode - Samuel Taylor Coleridge/
A Lament for Lost Joy and the Longing for Inner Renewal
Original Poem (English), line by line (selected excerpt due to length):
(Opening Lines)
Well! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made
The grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence,
This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence
Unroused by winds that ply a busier trade
Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes,
Or the dull sobbing draft, that moans and rakes
Upon the strings of this Æolian lute,
Which better far were mute.
For lo! the New-moon winter-bright!
And overspread with phantom light,
(With swimming phantom light o’erspread
But rimmed and circled by a silver thread)
I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling
The more than mortal storm that now is brewing;
And sweet is every sound,
Sweeter thy voice, but every sound is sweet;
My own dear Maiden, with thee serenely fleeing,
Adown life’s stream, oft linked with shallower tide;
Yet from the stillness deep and wide
Wakeful, but longing to dwell, to roam
Within a sense of joy denied,
I ask from nature’s calm profound
If life or spirit be unbound.
(Excerpt from Later Stanzas)
I see them all so excellently fair,
I see, not feel, how beautiful they are!
My genial spirits fail;
And what can these avail
To lift the smothering weight from off my breast?
It were a vain endeavour,
Though I should gaze for ever
On that green light that lingers in the west:
I may not hope from outward forms to win
The passion and the life, whose fountains are within.
O Lady! we receive but what we give,
And in our life alone does Nature live:
Ours is her wedding garment, ours her shroud!
And would we aught behold, of higher worth,
Than that inanimate cold world allowed
To the poor loveless ever-anxious crowd,
Ah! from the soul itself must issue forth
A light, a glory, a fair luminous cloud
Enveloping the Earth—
And from the soul itself must there be sent
A sweet and potent voice, of its own birth,
Of all sweet sounds the life and element!
...
Joy, virtuous Lady! joy that ne’er was given,
Save to the pure, and in their purest hour,
Life, and life’s effluence, cloud at once and shower,
Joy, Lady! is the spirit and the power,
Which wedding Nature to us gives in dower
A new Earth and new Heaven,
Undreamt of by the sensual and the proud—
Joy is the sweet voice, Joy the luminous cloud—
We in ourselves rejoice!
And thence flows all that charms or ear or sight,
All melodies the echoes of that voice,
All colours a suffusion from that light.
(Concluding Lines)
But now afflictions bow me down to earth:
Nor care I that they rob me of my mirth,
But oh! each visitation
Suspends what Nature gave me at my birth,
My shaping spirit of Imagination.
For not to think of what I needs must feel,
But to be still and patient, all I can;
And haply by abstruse research to steal
From my own nature all the natural man—
This was my sole resource, my only plan:
Till that which suits a part infects the whole,
And now is almost grown the habit of my soul.
Note: “Dejection: An Ode” is significantly longer than these excerpts. For the complete poem, please consult a full literary text.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Dejection: An Ode,” composed in 1802 and revised for publication in 1802 and 1817, stands as a profound reflection on the poet’s deteriorating mental state, his fear of losing creative power, and his philosophical view that joy springs from within. In this poem—originally envisioned as a response to William Wordsworth’s “Immortality Ode”—Coleridge laments that external beauties (such as a brilliant night sky or nature’s enchanting sounds) no longer stir him with the same emotional force.
The poem’s opening references an ominous storm, which sets the stage for the poet’s inner turmoil. Nature, once a wellspring of creativity, has become a mere backdrop incapable of reawakening his ‘shaping spirit of Imagination.’ This loss is linked to his broader emotional and spiritual despondency: he suffers from the failure of his marriage, unrequited love, ill health, and the slow collapse of his once-vital poetic gift.
The central philosophical insight involves the assertion that it’s not nature itself that produces joy, but our own capacity to invest the external world with that joyful spirit. Coleridge contends that we ‘receive but what we give,’ highlighting the necessity of an inner light—empathy, imagination, and emotional openness—to appreciate nature’s grandeur. Without that internal spark, the sublime skies and moonlit scenes appear flat and lifeless.
In the latter portion, the poet addresses a ‘Lady,’ expressing hope that she may remain untouched by his sense of despondency. He praises ‘Joy’ as an almost divine force that ‘weddings Nature’ to humanity, forging a transformative bond. Despite this hopeful thread, the poem ends on a subdued note: Coleridge confesses a resigned acceptance of his predicament, unsure if his imaginative vigor can ever be restored. Yet, in acknowledging this self-awareness, the poem implicitly suggests that recognizing the source of joy might be the first step toward rekindling it. (Approx. 300 words)
Key points
1. The poem laments the waning of Coleridge’s creative imagination.
2. External nature alone cannot bestow joy—true vitality arises from the inner spirit.
3. Coleridge’s personal turmoil (ill health, marital strains) informs his poetic dejection.
4. “Dejection: An Ode” contrasts with Wordsworth’s optimism in “Ode: Intimations of Immortality.”
5. The final note is bittersweet: while the poet recognizes the key to joy, he remains uncertain of reclaiming it.