Coleridge, Poetry, Christabel
This article comes to us via author Phin Upham, who is a frequent contributor to blogs like theAcademic Ledger.
This sort of question is always implicit. How much of the actions and tensions of the poem appear external but are actually internal? And how does one end a story such as this? This problem is enormous. Coleridge answers it by avoiding the trap of a satisfying (end), and opts to leave the reader dissatisfied enough to confront and question the issues raised, which ultimately is Coleridge’s goal. Coleridge must have grappled with this poem in his efforts to add this very complexity.
Christabel was difficult to carry forward and complete because there necessarily had to be a tension between form and content, between what was explicit and what was implicit. The tensions are especially problematic when one tries to end such a poem. To what extent should the end be satisfying to the reader, and to what extent should it force the reader to respond? Coleridge was discussing very difficult and complex issues that are still unresolved. But the core of the poem, and its power, derive from Coleridges unblinkingness. The intensity of his fixed stare. He does not skirt the issue of sexuality because he wants to, but because he must in order to maximize his effectiveness. The poem forces him to do something which seems a contradiction: he needs to hide in order to reveal. The poem requires much of the reader, who must grapple with the issues Coleridge skillfully draws out, but it required even more of Coleridge who paradoxically manages to draw a straight line with curves.
About the Author
Phin Upham is a New York City and San Francisco based investor and author, who frequently contributes to blogs and local journalism. Read more articles by Phin Upham on blogs like the Academic Ledger.