3473 - Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Greg Kelley)
Course Description
Instructor: Greg Kelley
Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge has been justly celebrated for wild imaginative flights like “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Kubla Khan.” However, he also excelled in quieter, more meditative poems pitched in a conversational tone, such as “The Aeolian Harp” and “Frost at Midnight.” This duality of style may reflect a troubled soul, haunted by a conflict of religious orthodoxy and speculative philosophy. Although history has favored his friend and sometime collaborator William Wordsworth, of prolific creativity, Coleridge’s more modest catalogue amply rewards analytical delving and empathic response. In a discussion-based course we will appreciate Coleridge’s restrained virtuosity, his startling originality, and his humane and generous voice.
Bio: Greg Kelley holds the Ph.D. in English from Emory University (‘90). Happily married for 47 years, Greg enjoys his four adult children and three grandchildren. He taught at the high school and, mostly, at the university level for 40 years, most recently at Perimeter College of Georgia State University, a delightful access institution, before retiring December, 2024. He has played in rock bands continuously since 1969.