Rate:0.0 / 0 votes

What Is Life?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Resembles Life what once was held of Light,
     Too ample in itself for human sight ?
An absolute Self--an element ungrounded--
All, that we see, all colours of all shade
     [Image]By encroach of darkness made ?--
Is very life by consciousness unbounded ?
And all the thoughts, pains, joys of mortal breath,
A war-embrace of wrestling Life and Death ?

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

17 sec read
945

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAABBCDD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 355
Words 59
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 8
Full analysis for What Is Life? »

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 · 1772 · Ottery St Mary
 · 1834 · Highgate

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. more…

All Samuel Taylor Coleridge poems | Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books

10 fans

Discuss the poem What Is Life? with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "What Is Life?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/34398/what-is-life?>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    »

    December 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    10
    days
    16
    hours
    13
    minutes
    78 entries submitted — 72 remaining

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Our awesome collection of

    Promoted Poems

    »

    Browse Poetry.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "He was like a rainy Tuesday" is an example of ________.
    A metaphor
    B idiom
    C analogy
    D simile