Early life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge lost to Virtue". In the letter, Coleridge attacks Southey for causing the divide between the two of them and for pursuing money instead of their beliefs. Coleridge's and Southey's relationship dissolved, and Coleridge was without a close friend. However, he met William Wordsworth, a fellow poet, in September 1795 and would eventually become close with him. Their relationship did not yet start, and in January 1796 Coleridge was travelling to find subscribers for a proposed political magazine called "The Watchman". During this time, he met with Erasmus Darwin and discussed both politics and religion; Darwin's atheism bothered Coleridge but he
To William Wordsworth is a dominant theme within his poetry. The poem serves to contrast Coleridge and Wordsworth. In particular, the poem expresses Coleridge's feelings about his own mind and poetic career. He discuses how he hoped to become great when younger and then how he believes that his ability to write poetry has vanished. Coleridge would have struggled to write "To William Wordsworth" while Wordsworth did not have such experiences. The praise of Wordsworth also contradicted many of Coleridge's personal feelings at the time, which included jealousy. The poem's emphasis on Wordsworth's greatness is without any jealousy while attacking Coleridge's self in