Samuel Taylor Coleridge
British · Late 18th–early 19th century
English Romantic poet, co-author with William Wordsworth of Lyrical Ballads (1798), the volume widely credited with launching English Romanticism. Author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, and Christabel.
Connection to Taylor Swift
Surfaced in EP10 in the context of Wordsworth's revision history and the Lake District period (Lyrical Ballads collaboration). No direct Taylor connection in this episode; named ahead of 'the lakes' (Folklore), which is set in the Lake District where Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Dorothy Wordsworth lived and wrote.
Notable Works
- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, Christabel, Lyrical Ballads (with Wordsworth), Biographia Literaria
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
“She's the albatross She is here to destroy you”
Angela & Uncle Jerry identify the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as the primary literary source for the song. The albatross is the controlling metaphor for the piece, Taylor characterizes herself as the albatross, the evil omen bird hung around someone's neck in the poem. Uncle Jerry notes the song mirrors the poem's frame-tale structure: an old man stops a wedding guest to tell his cautionary tale, just as Taylor is telling the story of her life. The song's opening with 'wise men' parallels the ancient mariner stopping the wedding guest. Uncle Jerry also notes the poem uses antique spelling (R-I-M-E) and was published in the Lyrical Ballads at the end of the 18th century.