Coleridge’s Idea of Wordsworth as Philosopher Poet

Focuses on Coleridge's philosophical ideas about nature in works such as "Biographia Literaria", "The Friend" and "On Poesy or Art" and then applies them to representative texts of Wordsworth's poetry, particularly the 1805 "Prelude" and the Lucy poems. The study also examines the similarities between the growth of mind in Wordsworth and Coleridge's thought about the evolution of consciousness. The work of Owen Barfield, Erich Neumann and Mircea Eliade is used to bring out the complexities of both Coleridge's and Wordsworth's ideas. In using Coleridge's thought as a touchstone to read Wordsworth's poetry, Joplin aims to bring fresh ideas to the study of these two poets.