The One Life Coleridge and Hinduism (An Old and Rare Book)

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About the Book For the first time, a monographic study of Coleridge's work extensively uncovers the connections of his poetry with the Hindu view of life. This study investigates Coleridge's philosophical and spiritual itinerary; it originally contributes in showing the strong impact the first translations of some texts of Hinduism had on the author's psyche, philosophical approach and poetical inspiration. In addition, Coleridge's unpublished manuscript notes found in one of the Abbé J. A. Dubois' seminal studies of India are here presented as proof of the poet's long standing interest in and frequentation of Hinduism.

Inclined to investigate the complexities of the human condition, both poetically and philosophically, Coleridge has tried to resolve the extremes of human existence through a synthesis of both Western and Oriental visions through which the universe ultimately emerges as an organic cosmos rhythmically unfolding through an intricate web of influxes, echoes and correspondences.

Antonella Riem Natale's scholarly work invites readers to participate in the open-ended adventure of Coleridge's quest toward the Divine One and its multi-faceted layers of existence by originally combining textual analysis with all recent literary criticism and inter-disciplinary investigations, encompassing mythological, anthropological, philosophical, scientific and historical fields of study. Weaving personal facets of Coleridge's artistic sensibility with the Hindu world-view, the underlying metaphysical concerns that were integral to his vision of art and existence are thus unravelled in a coherent and poignant reinterpretation of an extraordinary poet and his times.

About the Author Antonella Riem Natale is Full Professor of English Literature at the University of Udine, Italy, and heads International Cultural Exchange Programmes with Australia. She studies English, Australian, Indian and West Indian Literatures, postmodernism and postcolonialism, Hinduism in English Romantic Poetry, 'Orientalism' in Australian fiction, fable and myth along with the theme of the 'double' and diasporic writers from the Italian region of Friuli. She promotes events on Ethnic Literatures and linguistic minorities, and co-ordinates two major international research projects entitled Education towards Partnership. Languages, Cultures and Civilizations: A Cooperative Paradigm and Other Signs Other Voices of Peace. She has published monographic studies on Richard Adams, Patrick White, Bruce Chatwin, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and several collected essays on the theme of the 'double' in British fiction, on Partnership, language teaching and education, on Australian and Caribbean Literature and the figure of the Goddess in post-colonial literatures.

Foreword The human mind appears to have a passion for finding out some kind of unity in life, in nature, in the universe. That desire, whether it is justified or not, must fulfil some essential need of the mind. The old philosophers were ever seeking this, and even modern scientists are impelled by this urge. We are told now by some able thinkers and philosophers that this basic conception is false and there is no such thing as order or unity in this accidental universe. That may be so, but there can be little doubt that even this mistaken belief, if such it was, and the search for unity in India, Greece, and elsewhere, yielded positive results and produced a harmony, a balance, and a richness in life'.

Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank the British Library for kindly permitting the printing in the Appendix of the following manuscript notes: Author - personal DUBOIS, Jean Antoine. Title Description of the character, manners, and customs of the people of India; and of their institutions, religious and civil... Translated from the French manuscript. Publisher/year London, 1817. Physical descr. 8°. Subject Hindus - Social life and customs. Added name COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor. Books containing MS. Notes by Coleridge. Other editions [Description of people of India; and of their institutions, religious and civil. Translated from the French manuscript.] Madras, 1862. 8°. (Uk)MP1.0001043086.3. Related item Other edition available: [Description of the character, manners, and customs of the people of India; and of their institutions, religious and civil... Translated from the French manuscript.] holdings (1) All items. Textual holdings Humanities C.44.g.3. [Another copy.] MS. notes [by S. T. Coleridge]. Oriental Collections V 6892 [Another copy.] Held in OIOC. Holdings (BL) 152.h.9. Request Holdings (BL) C.44.g.3. Request Holdings (BL) V 6892 Request.