Samuel Coleridge lived in the imagination, and like Wordsworth reveled in nature. Coleridge personified nature and brought to it his own philosophy and his feelings about the wickedness of the city. In Work Without Hope, Coleridge through nature showcases his disdain for living life without a purpose.
The first stanza focuses on nature and how all of nature has work to do: "The bees are stirring- birds are on the wing" (line 2). They are awakening after Winter and preparing for the work of Spring. They are going to their purpose of making honey, building nests, or singing (line 6). While the speaker has nothing to do, he is the "sole unbusy thing" (line 5). He lacks purpose. Even though he knows where to find "where amaranths blow," he is not satisfied (line 7). For he "blooms not," he lacks the renewal and hope that exists in nature. He can live without the hope and still work, but because he lives a purposeless existence his hope "cannot live" (line 14). Hope must have a purpose or something to look forward to in order to survive. If there is nothing to hope for, no spring, then there is not hope. Nothing will ever change so why should one hope.
I took this as a message to the modern world. Coleridge was trying to awaken his peers to their mundane existence. They are living in the city. They are living without purpose, performing their daily duties, but not enjoying themselves. The world lacks purpose, and they have lost their hope without even realizing it. They are living a half life. In the end, the birds, bees, and snails are happier than humanity because they have the hope of spring and humanity hopes for nothing.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteGood focus on this poem by Coleridge, with insightful observations on particular passages you quote and on his sense of himself and his age. Good expansion of your comments from the poet alone to his age.
I like the connection you make to modern world and awakening his peers. This is a good interpretation of the poem.
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