The Pains of Sleep Context
Written in 1803 but published in 1816
A deeply personal and psychological poem exploring Coleridge’s mental torment, spiritual guilt and loneliness
Refects Coleridge’s opium dependency
Religious Context
Coleridge’s father was the Reverend John Coleridge, a well respected Anglican Vicar
Coleridge was heavily involved in idealism generated by the early days of the French Revolution - impatient with the status quo in religion
Unitarianism - a historically Christian theological movement named for the affirmation that God is one entity, instead of three
Coleridge preached to at least 6 different congregations
Coleridge’s Childhood
Good relationship with his father but problematic with his mother (believed she was a social climber)
Sent away to boarding school very early
Sara Hutchinson
Coleridge had an unrequited love for Sara Hutchinson which caused a rift with his marriage to Sara Fricker
What is Pantisocracy?
A utopian, commune-like society in Pennsylvania that Coleridge planned with his friend Robert Southey
What is Didacticism?
A sermon of anti-war sentiment
What was a possible inspiration for the RotAM?
James Cook’s 2nd Voyage of Exploration (1772-1775)
A Voyage Round The World by Way of the Great South Sea (1726)
