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Why did you change Coleridge's biography? It used to say he was a "romantic conservative and Christian radical" and now it says "he devoted himself to theological and politico-sociological works." That's very vague. The first is a much better and more accurate description of Coleridge's later life. Do you have someone else running the site now?
Admin is running the site all right! don't worry about that! Actually I rewrote the biographies :oops: (on Admin's request, I hasten to add :P ), mainly to edit out material that was available elsewhere on encyclopaedias on the net. Sorry if the Coleridge bit sounded vague, but consistency was not Coleridge's strong point- He started off as a Romantic Revolutionary and I don't think he ever became a Romantic Conservative in the sense Wordsworth or Southey did. And as for Christian radical- christian APOLOGIST would be better considering his earlier dalliancewith oriental scriptures and mysticism. Coleridge was a Christian Radical when he edited The Friend, but not whe he completed a volte face on his earlier ideas in the later writings. In BiographiaLiteraria, talking of his radical years, Coleridge writes: "My head was with Spinoza, though my whole heart remained with Paul and John". The change from Christian radical to Christian apologist is IMO clearly evident here. Christian Radical, IMO describe the EARLIER Coleridge, not the later one as you suggest. I admit I cut down on the details because I could not retain the original sentence without giving a completely false picture of Coleridge's early ideas and I didn't want to convey a picture of him solely related to his later day convictions, plus there was a length limitation to work within. But I respect your opinion though I do not agree with either " Romantic Conservative" or " Christian Radical" as accurate descriptions of the later Coleridge.
Enough with the explanations, but let me reassure you there is no attempt to take over the site! Admin is firmly in the saddle and for all our sakes, I hope he continues to be! :D
Interesting. He's very tough to describe in one small bio i guess.
Certainly- he's one ofthe most complex characters in the whole Romantic period. I could (perhaps) sum up Wordsworth in a page or two but certainly not Coleridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by timmytimtim