--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked…" description: "\"Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium.\" — Matthew Arnold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg" --- # Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium. ![“Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium.” quote by Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg) > “Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium.” [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Coleridge’s brilliance was marred by opium addiction, affecting his work. **In simple terms:** Genius can be undermined by addiction. Key Takeaway Recognize risks of substance abuse. Themes addiction genius literature Mood cautionary reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - creative work - health - historical analysis - mental health Key Concepts Romanticism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect creative minds? - How does addiction alter legacy? A Different Perspective Romanticism can glorify self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coleridge/) [Coleridge Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coleridge-poet-2231165/) [Mist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist/) [Mist Opium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist-opium-2231167/) [Opium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opium/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosopher Wrecked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher-wrecked-2231166/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Summer, as my friend Coleridge waggishly writes, has set in with its usual severity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/summer-as-my-friend-coleridge-waggishly-writes-has-set-in-with-its/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“Woolf worried about the childlessness from time to time, and suffered from the imposed anxiety that she was not, unlike her friend Vita Sackville-West,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/woolf-worried-about-the-childlessness-from-time-to-time-and-suffered/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Coleridge cried; "O God, how glorious it is to live!" Renan asks, "O God, when will it be worth while to live?" In Nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/coleridge-cried-o-god-how-glorious-it-is-to-live-renan-asks-o-god/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [“Brown and Dilke walked with me and back from the Christmas pantomime. I had not a dispute but a disquisition, with Dilke on various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/brown-and-dilke-walked-with-me-and-back-from-the-christmas-pantomime/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I love Coleridge ... and I am very willing to allow that he has more imagination than Wordsworth, and more of thereal poet. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/i-love-coleridge-and-i-am-very-willing-to-allow-that-he-has-more/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“... While much recent historicist criticism has assumed early nineteenth-century readers attuned to subtle ideological nuances in poetry, actual responses from readers often come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-elfenbein/while-much-recent-historicist-criticism-has-assumed-early-nineteenth/) [Andrew Elfenbein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-elfenbein/) > [“Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-thomsen-brits/common-sense-in-an-uncommon-degree-is-what-the-world-calls-wisdom-2/) [Louisa Thomsen Brits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-thomsen-brits/) > [“His (Samuel Coleridge) dark senses were constantly in play, the frustration of them bringing illness. Weather and organic nature combined in a synaesthetic multi-media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-redgrove/his-samuel-coleridge-dark-senses-were-constantly-in-play-the/) [Peter Redgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-redgrove/) > [Coleridge declares that a man cannot have a good conscience who refuses apple dumplings, and I confess that I am of the same opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/coleridge-declares-that-a-man-cannot-have-a-good-conscience-who/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [The four principal oral instructors to whom I feel my mind indebted for improvement were Joseph Fawcet, Thomas Holcroft, George Dyson, and Samuel Taylor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/the-four-principal-oral-instructors-to-whom-i-feel-my-mind-indebted/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [The comparison between Coleridge and Johnson is obvious in so far as each held sway chiefly by the power of his tongue. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-comparison-between-coleridge-and-johnson-is-obvious-in-so-far-as/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The Romantic poets were the prototype ramblers, and I've often found myself following in their footsteps - although perhaps not all of their footsteps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-smith/the-romantic-poets-were-the-prototype-ramblers-and-i-ve-often-found/) [Arthur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-smith/) > [Water inflated the belly Of Hart Crane, and of Shelley. Coleridge was a dope. Southwell died on a rope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-fuller/water-inflated-the-belly-of-hart-crane-and-of-shelley-coleridge-was-a/) [Roy Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-fuller/) > [Samuel Coleridge-Taylor has opened my eyes in many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-henry/samuel-coleridge-taylor-has-opened-my-eyes-in-many-ways/) [Lenny Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-henry/) > [“In some ways Coleridge committed a form of artistic suicide attempting to solve the complicated mystery he saw in the flocking starlings. In a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/in-some-ways-coleridge-committed-a-form-of-artistic-suicide/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## More by Matthew Arnold > [Culture looks beyond machinery, culture hates hatred; culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-looks-beyond-machinery-culture-hates-hatred-culture-has-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [We must hold fast to the austere but true doctrine as to what really governs politics and saves or destroys states. Having in mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/we-must-hold-fast-to-the-austere-but-true-doctrine-as-to-what-really/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Culture is the endeavour to know the best and to make this knowledge prevail for the good of all humankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-is-the-endeavour-to-know-the-best-and-to-make-this-knowledge/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [The difference between genuine poetry and the poetry of Dryden, Pope, and all their school, is briefly this: their poetry is conceived and composed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-difference-between-genuine-poetry-and-the-poetry-of-dryden-pope/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-the-acquainting-ourselves-with-the-best-that-has-been-known/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Strew on her roses, roses, And never a spray of yew! In quiet she reposes; Ah, would that I did too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/strew-on-her-roses-roses-and-never-a-spray-of-yew-in-quiet-she/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Nature, with equal mind, Sees all her sons at play, Sees man control the wind, The wind sweep man away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/nature-with-equal-mind-sees-all-her-sons-at-play-sees-man-control-the/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Six years-six little years-six drops of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/six-years-six-little-years-six-drops-of-time/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Let the long contention cease! / Geese are swans, and swans are geese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/let-the-long-contention-cease-geese-are-swans-and-swans-are-geese/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [It is almost impossible to exaggerate the proneness of the human mind to take miracles as evidence, and to seek for miracles as evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/it-is-almost-impossible-to-exaggerate-the-proneness-of-the-human-mind/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Religion is ethics heightened, enkindled, lit up by feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/religion-is-ethics-heightened-enkindled-lit-up-by-feeling/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Genius is mainly an affair of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/genius-is-mainly-an-affair-of-energy/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Culture is both an intellectual phenomenon and a moral one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-is-both-an-intellectual-phenomenon-and-a-moral-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [English civilization the humanizing, the bringing into one harmonious and truly humane life, of the whole body of English society that is what interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/english-civilization-the-humanizing-the-bringing-into-one-harmonious/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Wandering between two worlds, one dead The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head Like these, on earth I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/wandering-between-two-worlds-one-dead-the-other-powerless-to-be-born/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) [Explore all 267 Matthew Arnold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## More Coleridge quotes > [Summer, as my friend Coleridge waggishly writes, has set in with its usual severity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/summer-as-my-friend-coleridge-waggishly-writes-has-set-in-with-its/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Samuel Coleridge-Taylor has opened my eyes in many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-henry/samuel-coleridge-taylor-has-opened-my-eyes-in-many-ways/) [Lenny Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-henry/) > [Water inflated the belly Of Hart Crane, and of Shelley. Coleridge was a dope. Southwell died on a rope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-fuller/water-inflated-the-belly-of-hart-crane-and-of-shelley-coleridge-was-a/) [Roy Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-fuller/) > [The Romantic poets were the prototype ramblers, and I've often found myself following in their footsteps - although perhaps not all of their footsteps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-smith/the-romantic-poets-were-the-prototype-ramblers-and-i-ve-often-found/) [Arthur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-smith/) > [The comparison between Coleridge and Johnson is obvious in so far as each held sway chiefly by the power of his tongue. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-comparison-between-coleridge-and-johnson-is-obvious-in-so-far-as/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The four principal oral instructors to whom I feel my mind indebted for improvement were Joseph Fawcet, Thomas Holcroft, George Dyson, and Samuel Taylor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/the-four-principal-oral-instructors-to-whom-i-feel-my-mind-indebted/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Coleridge declares that a man cannot have a good conscience who refuses apple dumplings, and I confess that I am of the same opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/coleridge-declares-that-a-man-cannot-have-a-good-conscience-who/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“His (Samuel Coleridge) dark senses were constantly in play, the frustration of them bringing illness. Weather and organic nature combined in a synaesthetic multi-media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-redgrove/his-samuel-coleridge-dark-senses-were-constantly-in-play-the/) [Peter Redgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-redgrove/) > [“Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-thomsen-brits/common-sense-in-an-uncommon-degree-is-what-the-world-calls-wisdom-2/) [Louisa Thomsen Brits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-thomsen-brits/) > [“... While much recent historicist criticism has assumed early nineteenth-century readers attuned to subtle ideological nuances in poetry, actual responses from readers often come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-elfenbein/while-much-recent-historicist-criticism-has-assumed-early-nineteenth/) [Andrew Elfenbein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-elfenbein/) > [I love Coleridge ... and I am very willing to allow that he has more imagination than Wordsworth, and more of thereal poet. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/i-love-coleridge-and-i-am-very-willing-to-allow-that-he-has-more/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“Brown and Dilke walked with me and back from the Christmas pantomime. I had not a dispute but a disquisition, with Dilke on various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/brown-and-dilke-walked-with-me-and-back-from-the-christmas-pantomime/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Coleridge cried; "O God, how glorious it is to live!" Renan asks, "O God, when will it be worth while to live?" In Nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/coleridge-cried-o-god-how-glorious-it-is-to-live-renan-asks-o-god/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [“Woolf worried about the childlessness from time to time, and suffered from the imposed anxiety that she was not, unlike her friend Vita Sackville-West,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/woolf-worried-about-the-childlessness-from-time-to-time-and-suffered/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“In some ways Coleridge committed a form of artistic suicide attempting to solve the complicated mystery he saw in the flocking starlings. In a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/in-some-ways-coleridge-committed-a-form-of-artistic-suicide/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) [Browse all 31 Coleridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coleridge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Arnold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-in-a-mist-of-opium/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coleridge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-in-a-mist-of-opium/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/matthew-arnold-1235_coleridge_coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-i_2636314.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium.” — Matthew Arnold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Matthew Arnold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Coleridge: poet and philosopher wrecked in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-in-a-mist-of-opium/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/coleridge-poet-and-philosopher-wrecked-in-a-mist-of-opium/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```