Analyse the poem The Eolian Harp by Samuel Taylor...

The Eolian Harp by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, can be described as the musings of a man thinking about his love for his wife Sara, the beauty of nature and about the wonder of God in providing him with both nature and Sara. The voice of the poem is Coleridge himself as it refers to Sara, his wife at the time of writing. It is a Romantic poem as it deals with a mixture of traditional Romantic themes: those of strong feelings, the importance of the imagination and the idea of the sublime, and the natural world. The Eolian Harp is written in blank verse and has an irregular split into two verse paragraphs, one long, one short. The form is lyrical as it deals with a mans thoughts and emotions but it is often written in a conversational style,†¦show more content†¦The end of each line needs and makes more sense once the next line has been read. In opposition to this quickening of pace is the use of caesura to cause a sudden thought provoking stop in the middle of a line:The stilly murmur of the distant SeaTells us of Silence. (l.11-12)The effect of using this technique at this point brings the thought to mind that we only truly hear the noise of the sea when all else is silent. This sudden stop and silence seems a perfect way to introduce the main theme as from this point on Coleridge talks about the Harp that is to dominate the tone of the poem until the end of the first verse paragraph. Coleridge uses a wonderful section of continuous alliteration from lines 17-20 in order to give depth to the Harp:And now its stringsBoldlier swept, the long sequacious notesOver delicious surges sink and rise,Such a soft floating witchery of sound (emphasis added) (l.17-19)The effect of this continuous use of the s sound creates the effect of a gentle, flowing and moving sound much like the long, delicious, floating sound that Coleridge tries to describe the harp as having. The actual effect of this alliteration is to create a sensual, relaxing tone at this point in the poem. Another technique of emphasis used throughout the poem is the use of imagery. Coleridge personifies the nature around him by comparing it to abstract nouns - the white flowerd Jasmin represents Innocence, the broad-leavd