Patrick McEvoy-Halston

English382lF0l
ProfessorKim Blank
21 October2002

from Symbiosis:An analysisof lines60-62from SamuelTaylorColeridge's

Separating

"Reflectionson HavingLeft a Placeof Retirement"

I thereforego andjoin head,heartandhand,

Active andfirm, to fight the bloodlessfight
Of Science,Freedom,ffid the Truth in Christ. 0r
In "Reflectionson HavingLeft a Placeof Retirernent,"Coleridgej.trre-exp
"n"ffitfr"
senseof onenesswith his motherhe felt at infancy. This feelingof "symbiosis,"of mergingwith

his mother,providedhim with a "magical" (Koenigsberg2) senseof overwhelminggratification.

He is inspiredto re-mergewith her, evenif only throughfantasy.This magicalfeelingis

exploredin the poemthroughlines29 to 41. Lines42 to 59 explore,however,the terrible

feelingsof shamethat this mergeralsoprovides,andinspireColeridge'svigorousdeclarationin

lines60 to 62 to be active(ratherthanpassive);to havea distinctcorporealidentity (ratherthan

/
feel borderlessandinsubstantial);andto shore-upandprotecthis individu ality.

The first useof the first personsingularlinkedto physicalactionsinceColeridge

r
"climbed" up the mountainis in line 60. Doeshis decisionto "9o" "lheIefore,"ashe implies,

of an idle-life (lines 43-59),or from being

arisefrom his reasonedconsideration

"overwhelm[ed]"at the mountain-top?hs fines 43-59showsomeone&*uffering from the

powerfrrlafter-effectsof symbiosis,Coleridgeactsto freehimselffrom (now) unwantedfeelings.

Coleridge'sexperienceat the mountain-topof beingpassivelyenvelopedwithin its 'last

circumference"is at first "blessed,"asit recallsa pleasurablechildhoodexperienceof beingat

the sideof his mother;but soonfeelsexcessive("luxurious"),andleaveshim feelingunmanned.r'

Afterwards,he doesnot so muchfeel guilt, owing to his solitude,but shamefor becomingpart

(of a) fernale. Startingfirst with "luxury," he useswith evidentdisdainnumerouswords,

includinganothernoun"[f]eelings," verbssuchas"pamp'ting," "[n]ursing," "weaving,"and

adjectivessuchas"delic ate,""[s]weet,""delicious,"and"dainty'-- that is, wordswith feminine

expresshow he feelsaftercomingdown from the mountain-top,ratherthan

connotations--to

what he thinks of the idle-fi{

'head,heartandhand"thathe 'Joins," ratherthanreason,
Coleridgespecifiesthat it is his

feelingsandaction,becausehe is trying to regaina corporealidentity separatefrom his mother's

v-

body. He uniteshis body-partsandtherebytakesthe same"[a]ctive" role his motherhadwhen

sheunitedthe particularphysicalelementsfoundat the mountain-topinto an "omni-presen[t]"

he regainsa senseof the "firmfness]" of reality--

whole. No longerpart of a spiritualone,ness,
'hand," demonsfrate
that clearboundaries
that is, a conceptionof reality that can,by touch,by
l./
two differentbodies,that of his mother
separateonepersonfrom another. Havingestablished

enrbodiedin the mountain-topandhis own protectedandmaintainedby physicalboundaries,he

to quif'his mother.He is *e{

is no longerunableor "constrained

Coleridgestill o'fights,"becausefighting corurotes

resistance.For now, he resistsagain

losinghimself within a large,ferninine"circumference."Three capitalizedandweightywords--

gauntlethe
"Science,""Freedom,"and"Truth"--arethe figrrative helmet,breastplaterand

fashionsto protecthis o'head,

heartandhand" from ferninineandintrusiveoutsideinfluences.

But, ashis own desireto be at onewith his motheris so strong,thesetermsarealsocauses

'lrnnumberedbrethren,"who can
Coleridgejoins to protecthimself from himself. Causesunite

andpurity, these
look over eachother. Moreover,connotingintellectualism,independence

the influenceof his sensualandpollutingmother,who once

particularcausescounterbalance
'/
seemedthe "whole world" to him.
 He protectshis masculineidentityby merging,by being'tn Christ,"too: Christ,God's

son,lived on earthwhile God kept to heave,n-herQueendom,not "Kingdom." At death,he will

againrejoin her, andnurseat her side.

(589 words) r,/

Works Cited

Koenigsberg,RichardA. SymbiosisandSeparation:Towardsa Psychologyof Culture. New

York: The Library of Art andSocialScience,1989. y'

Coleridge,SamuelTaylor. "Reflectionson HavingLeft a Placeof Retirement."Romanticism:

An Anthologv
. 2nded. Ed. DuncanWu. Malden:Black\ilellPublishers,
. 1998. rt
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