Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1772-1834
'Stop, Christian Passer-by! - Stop, child of God,
And read with gentle breast. Beneath this sod
A poet lies, or that which once seem'd he. -
O, lift one thought in prayer for S.T.C.;
That he who many a year with toil of breath
Found death in life, may here find life in death!
Mercy for praise - to be forgiven for fame
He ask'd for praise - to be forgiven for fame
He ask'd, and hoped, through Christ.
Do thou the same!'
| S.T. Coleridge is buried in the aisle of St. Michael's Church, Highgate, London.
He was originally buried at Old Highgate Chapel but was reinterred in St. Michael's Church in 1961. Coleridge wrote his own epitaph in the last year of his life.
An autopsy, carried out on Coleridge's body at his own request, revealed that he had been suffering from an enlarged heart.
Coleridge first met William Wordsworth in 1797 while he was living in the West Country. This was the start of a fourteen year relationship which proved to be one of the most creative partnerships in English poetry. It was Wordsworth who suggested that Coleridge write The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It was at time that Coleridge also completed his opium inspired masterpiece Kubla Khan. In 1798 they published a joint collection of work entitled: Lyrical Ballads. |
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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In 1800 Coleridge moved to the Lake District to be close to Wordsworth. By this stage his marriage to Sara Fricker was deteriorating and he fell in love with Wordsworth's sister-in-law Sara Hutchinson.
By 1811 Coleridge had become increasingly reliant on Opium. This, combined with pressure of work, led to arguments with Wordsworth and the irretrievable breakdown of their friendship.
In 1816 Coleridge sought treatment for his opium addiction with Highgate surgeon James Gillman. He moved into Gillman's house and remained there until his death on 25 July 1834. This was a happier period in Coleridge's life and he became known as the 'sage of Highgate'.
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| It is an ancient Mariner |
| And he stoppeth one of three. |
| 'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, |
| Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? | |
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