Christabel

1 Pages 258 Words

In the poem Christabel, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
Colerdige’s use of mysteriuos imagery and magic is present
throughout the entire poem. In Christabel he continues in a
dark path of unknowingness and despair. Many of his later
poems, including Christabel, came from his being subject to
continues nightmares of guilt and despair, and also from
feelings of remorse( Norton 417 ). These feelings were major
prose in his poetry. Coleridge often priviledges weird tales
and bizarre imagery over the commonplace. Taking a look at
this specific poem one might be able to see how this poem
follows his use of bizarre and detailed imagery. In the
beginning the poem seems to go in one direction; as if, it
were to be a love story, but near what is suppose to be the
end because Christabel is unfinished, the reader is left
feeling as if they have been subject to some mystical spell,
quite like the character Christabel.
The setting takes place in the forest outside of a
castle. It is here that the reader is first introduced to
Coleridge’s brilliant use of imagery, through the way he
describes the setting. He sets the setting as followed,
Is the night chilly and dark?
The night is chilly, but not dark.
The thin gray cloud is spread on high,
It covers but not hides the sky.
The moon is behind, and at full;
And yet she looks both small and dull.
The night is chill, the cloud is gray:
‘Tis a month before the month of May,
And the Spring comes slowly up this way( 14-22 ).
Looking closely one can see that the lines are set in
ryhming couplets....