Individualism In Coleridge's 'This Lime Tree Bower My Prison'

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The Romantic principle of individualism was shaped by the notion of man’s natural goodness which is prevented through artificial structures such as hierarchy. A Vindication of the Rights of Women was a text written to challenge the existing social and gender stratifications which constrained an individual’s freedom. Endorsing Jacques Turgot’s presentation of his Six Edicts in 1776 which proposed the elimination of privilege amongst the nobles, Wollstonecraft expresses her disdain for entitlements such as money metaphorically in her denunciation “Birth, riches, and every extrinsic advantage that exalt a man above his fellows, without any mental exertion, sink him in reality below them” exploring the dangers of the suppression of individuality. …show more content…

Despite the Romantics valuing of nature, the direct threat to the natural habitat marked by the presence of soot around steel manufacturing towns due to the Industrial Revolution catalysed increased support in Pantheism which valued the unity between man, God and nature. A Pantheist himself, Coleridge’s This Lime Tree Bower My Prison (1816) follows the persona’s wishes to accompany his colleagues upon an expedition after suffering a scald. The persona’s initial exclamation “This lime-tree bower my prison!” which metaphorically accentuates his physical constraints contrasts with his affectionate tone after a period of reflection in “This little lime-tree bower” exploring the transformative capabilities of imaginative contemplation with regards to changing perceptions of physical boundaries within nature. Furthermore, the Biblical annotations in the descriptions “Ye purple heath-flowers! richlier burn, ye clouds!” and “the many steepled-tract magnificent / Of hilly fields and meadows” elevates nature to an equal status as God reflecting Pantheist values and the vivid imagery explores the impact of imagination in transcending physical constraints and enabling the individual to explore nature. Hence, through the power of imagination, one is able to transcend the physical

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