A Comparison of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge

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A comparison of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge When reading poetry it is essential to analyze the diction, style, and imagery that a poet uses. By doing so one is able to acquire a stronger understanding of what the poet is trying to convey along with being able to more easily locate underlying themes hidden within the text. This is made clear when analyzing and comparing the poetry of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge. Even though they are both unique in the style that their poetry is written, similarities come up quiet frequently in the themes being conveyed in their stories. The similarity in these themes can be linked to the fact that Wordsworth and Coleridge were both contemporaries in the age of Romanticism. Their poetry was driven by the time period that they lived in and the outlooks on life that were relevant to their audience. This is where the similarities ended, out shadowed by the vastly differing mechanical aspects of both Coleridge and Wordsworth’s writing. They seemed to gear their diction and style of writing towards different audiences while at the same time conveying similar themes significant to their time period. Both poets disagreed with each other on the language, imagery and style in which they believed poetry should be presented. However, since this topic is a matter of opinion neither poet was wrong in their individual ideology. There are pros and cons to both of their styles and one may find one type more intriguing then another. Nonetheless, through his use of diction, style, and imagery in his poetry, Coleridge conveys a more personal and powerful experience than Wordsworth and is able to summon a more passionate emotional response from his readers. When looking at the works of Coleridge, a clear difference can be seen in the style, form, and diction compared to Wordsworth. Coleridge’s view of common
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