Mary+Elizabeth+Coleridge

Mary Coleridge, born September 23, 1861, was the eldest of two girls. Her father, Arthur Duke Coleridge, was an author himself. Her great uncle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a well known romantic poet (Whistler and Coleridge). From a young age, Mary was influenced by the literary figures in her family. Her father encouraged her creativity and imagination while her mother craved her to be more conventional. Her father educated her at home in German, French, Italian, Greek and history. At a very young age, she became fascinated with the shape of the Hebrew letters her father was writing and begged to be taught the language (Whistler and Coleridge 34). She was a very meticulous and detail-oriented student of languages. Her family connections into the popular world of poetry allowed for opportunities to meet Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning  at family dinner parties. Though she was a fan of Tennyson’s work, it was Browning who she idolized, and she had copies of his work with vigorous notes and critiques written in the pages. The family was also close to the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood through a friendship with William Holman Hunt. Though it could be expected that she learned from these influential figures in the Victorian world of literature and art, her shy tendencies often prevented her from opening up and being vulnerable in social interactions. Instead, she felt most comfortable focusing on the constant pursuit of knowledge.

From an early age, Mary Coleridge explored the world of the arts. She did much traveling with her family, and as she developed close female relationships, she frequented many concerts, galleries and museums to further broaden her worldly knowledge. She had had an early ambition to paint and draw, and she extensively explored the visual tendencies of poetry. She also became interested in drama through reading Shakespeare and other Elizabethan dramatists (Whistler and Coleridge 32). Though she was not very good at acting, she used it as a way to combat her timidity.

From the time that she learned languages at a young age from her father, Mary Coleridge took comfort in knowledge and used it as a shield from the public. Her father’s friend, William Cory, became a significant teacher in her life. He was a poet, scholar, and former master of Eton School. He assisted her in further developing her writing skills and encouraged her to write more often (Whistler and Coleride 35). At the age of thirteen, she wrote her first poem called " Ballade of Autumn" (Whistler and Coleridge 34) which is, like most of her poetry, an exploration of faith and the feelings of loss and confusion that came along with many of the social changes happening at the time. As a young child she showed immense potential with her writing, but she still struggled with extreme shyness and bizarre detached behaviour. This has been attributed to her often turbulent familial relationships in her childhood.

Through often painful family interactions, at a young age Coleridge was haunted by death. For instance, a close aunt living with the family died when Coleridge was twelve. A close cousin, with whom Coleridge had had a friendship, had a scandalous marriage in which her husband publicly embarrassed the Coleridge family and Mary was forbidden from speaking to her cousin. These instances damaged Mary’s spirit, and death haunted her. It can be said that these circumstances influenced much of her early poetry (Whistler and Coleridge 50).

Though she was very accomplished in her lyrical form poetry, she was also recognized as a novelist and essayist to the public during her life. She wrote essays in the// Monthly Review // (Coleridge and Sichel) and even tried out fiction writing in 1893 when she published her first novel // The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus //. This first attempt was an utter failure due to her adventurous and often convoluted plot and character developments. She did not publish anything for the next three years until, by chance, poet Robert Bridges picked up manuscripts of her poetry at a friend’s house and demanded that they be published. She was already a great admirer of his work, and his interest in her work developed into an important friendship for Coleridge. He taught her further technical writing skills and helped her develop her criticism (Coleridge and Sichel 23). Through correspondence with Bridges, Coleridge was able to publish // Fancy Following // in 1896. This was followed by // [|Fancy’s Guerdon] // in 1897. Both works appeared under the pseudonym Anodos (ibid). In that same year her second novel, a historical romance called // The King with Two Faces //, was also published. It was the publication of this novel that gained her her reputation (Coleridge and Sichel 25).

Growing up in a Christian household had a major impact on Coleridge. Her father was keen to discuss theology and sermons at the dinner table, but Mary felt uncomfortable with the constant religious discussion in her family. Moreover, as a young Christian woman, there were certain expectations of behaviour. After reading Leo Tolstoy, she often contemplated her place in philanthropic action as an upper class Christian woman (citation needed). There were many opportunities for such women to help with social aid to the lower class, but upon trying some of these work postings out, Coleridge became discouraged and depressed. She understood the severe class stratification and knew that she was unable to relate on a personal level to clients. Through previous close teacher-student relationships with both William Cory and Robert Bridges, she understood the power of knowledge and showed a genius in teaching. She taught private classes for young working girls in her home and in 1895 began teaching English Literature at the Working Women’s College (citation needed). Through her teaching, she was able to build close bonds with these young girls. After her death, the students refused to be taught by anyone else and the class died.

In the public, Mary Coleridge was very shy and became very uncomfortable when asked about the meaning behind her writing. To her, writing was a tool to explore a different and more open side of her self, and she used literature as a way to freely communicate her emotions and fears. Like her great uncle, she had a bizarre need for concealment and other unusual habits that are still unexplained today (Coleridge and Sichel 22). After her death on August 25 th, 1907, from blood poisoning after an appendectomy (citation needed), a collection of 227 poems found in many different notebooks and corners of her apartment was published. Through the abundance of writing found after her death, it becomes obvious that Mary Coleridge was in strong pursuit of knowledge throughout her life and this education became a significant part of the poet we read today.

Works Cited

Coleridge, Mary E, and Edith H. Sichel. //Gathered Leaves from the Prose of Mary E. Coleridge.// London: Constable, 1910. Print. Whister, Theresa, and Mary E. Coleridge. //The collected poems of Mary Coleridge.// Soho Square, London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1954. Print.