Coleridge and Hinduism

Book excerpt: This book extensively investigates Samuel Taylor Coleridge's profound ties with the Oriental Tales he read throughout his life, from a philosophical, poetical and metaphysical point of view. It is the only comprehensive and dedicated study on how Hindu works, in particular Charles Wilkins's first translation of the Bhagavadgītā into English (1785), influenced Coleridge's poetic imagination, affecting all his writings, his poetry above all. In analysing Coleridge's quest for what he calls the "One life", the author's wish is that readers may find some "joyance" in reading this book, and feel inspired to go deeper into the anāhata nāda, the unstruck sound of the heart, fully enjoying the subtle inner resonances of Coleridge's poetic word.