Posted by Lisa on March 26, 19101 at 13:38:32:

In Reply to: Am I the only one who prefers the Asra poems... posted by no-one on March 25, 19101 at 14:14:14:

Hi no-one:

Since I'm obsessed with "Kubla Khan", I guess I can't answer completely objectively. I think, though, that the reason Coleridge is remembered more for the "epics" is that they are different. I mean, William Blake wrote heaps of poetry, but he is remembered mainly for Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Poe is remembered mainly for "The Raven", despite the fact that he composed heaps of poetry as well. They were different than anything others had done at the time. "ROTAM" and "Christabel" were definitely original ideas, weren't they? On the other hand, his Asra poems were just the sort of thing you could get from everyone, not that they aren't beautiful poetically. Also, I notice heaps of similarities between the Asra poems and his style in the more fantastical ones. I feel that if someone comes across one of his more ethereal poems because they HAVE to read it, then if they are interested they will find his other poetry easily enough.

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