Coleridge's "Easter Holidays" - 1787

Intro - Easter holidays is a poem that was written in 1787 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge when he was 15 years old at Christ’s Hospital, his school. It’s also one of the first poems Coleridge ever wrote. The poem was included in a letter to his brother Luke, included because Coleridge was unable to spend time with his family during the holiday times like the majority of the other children who attended. There was a time when Luke visited Coleridge for a little while in 1785, but he moved to the town of Devon in what I assume is the same year. It was the first time Coleridge had included a poem within a letter to his family. The poem has a neoplatonic theme that revolves around one with virtue being able to conquer suffering.

Information background - There is a short summary of “Easter Holidays” on Wikipedia but the article only summarises lines: 1 -3, 12-15, 16-24, and 31-36, as well as the main idea of the poem. Therefore because the summary is so scant, I will be providing my own first-hand detailed, line-by-line analysis and summary for the poem. The poem is written in strict sestet metre with the third and sixth line of each stanza both being indented and rhyming with each other. As the poem is linear, there is really only “one” summary the poem can have, as the poem has “one” big message to take from it, so my own summary will follow the idea from the article listed on Wikipedia as that is what the poem is about, While there may be some overlap of ideas there will be no plagiarising of direct phrase.

Summary - The poem describes the joy of Easter, but also warning of the future sorrows one may possibly encounter after having lost their innocence, concluding with the idea of virtue conquering suffering. The themes of the poem were heavily influenced by an English writer named John Trenchard, and a Scottish writer named Thomas Gordon, who were both members of the Commonwealth Party, or “Commonwealth Men”; A group of highly outspoken British Protestants who called for Religious, political, and economic reforms during the early 18th century. The party condemned corruption and lack of morality in British political life. They theorised that only civic virtue would be the protecting force from despotism and ruin. While nearly all British politicians and thinkers rejected the ideas of the commonwealth men, the influential writers of the Commonwealth Party had a powerful effect on Colonial British America, and American Republicanism.

Thomas Gordon and John Trenchard wrote a series of letters called “Cato’s Letters”, a series of letters that focus on the topics of religion, sin, and suffering. They both promoted the belief that suffering originated in vice, and man is a puppet, and but subjected to passions that cannot be controlled. This is important to mention because that idea is connected to Coleridge experiencing both suffering and guilt over what he describes later as his “loss of innocence”. In Easter Holidays, Coleridge describes the time of his innocence as in the past, yet all the other children at Christ’s Hospital (his school) still retained their innocence and joyful mirth.

However, the discussion of beauty within the poem, as well as the happy and hopeful conclusion of the poem reveal a further Neoplatonistic influence, especially that of Plotinus’s Enneads. From Plotinus particularly, Coleridge developed his idea of the understanding of wisdom as the soul being awakened to the knowledge of God and truth. Therefore, Coleridge responds to Trenchard and Gordon’s idea with the view that those who are virtuous are unaffected by suffering and instead, only those who are vicious and base in nature really suffer, and that people are able to conquer their fallen minds or states.

The Poem itself -

Hail! festal Easter, that dost bring

Approach of sweetly-smiling spring,

When Nature's clad in green:

When feather'd songsters through the grove

With beasts confess the power of love,

And brighten all the scene.

Now Youths the breaking stages load,

That swiftly rattling o'er the road

To Greenwich haste away;

While some with sounding oars divide

Of smoothly-flowing Thames the tide:

All sing the festive lay.

With mirthful dance they beat the ground,

Their shouts of joy the hills resound

And catch the jocund noise:

Without a tear, without a sigh,

Their moments all in transports fly

Till evening ends their joys.

But little think their joyous hearts

Of dire Misfortune's varied smarts,

Which youthful years conceal;

Thoughtless of bitter-smiling woe,

Which all mankind are born to know,

And they themselves must feel.

Yet he, who wisdom's paths shall keep

And virtue firm, that scorns to weep

At ills in Fortune's power;

Through this life's variegated scene,

In raging storms - or calm serene,

Shall cheerful spend the hour.

While steady Virtue guides his mind,

Heav'n-born Content he still shall find,

That never sheds a tear:

Without respect to any tide,

His hours away in bliss shall glide,

Like Easter all the year.

Detailed Summary -

Stanza one

In the first half of the first stanza the speaker is welcoming Easter and Spring! Hail was a greeting during Coleridge’s time that meant “to greet with great enthusiastic approval”. Festal translates to “Of, like, or relating to a celebration or festival.” The first half of the stanza states “I greet the festive and celebratory Easter holiday, which brings the imminent approach of happy and kind Spring (personifying spring as a person), when Nature (once again personified as a person) is clad (clothed or covered) in vernal green.

“Hail! festal Easter, that dost bring

Approach of sweetly-smiling spring,

When Nature's clad in green:”

The second half of the stanza, continuing on the idea of the first half, speaks of the sweetness of nature and spring again; the birds sing mating calls with the animals in the grove, which brightens and livens up spring and the immediate visual experience even more.

“When feather'd songsters through the grove

With beasts confess the power of love,

And brighten all the scene.”

Stanza two -

In the first half of stanza two, the feelings of happiness and comfort continue. Coleridge states that now children are loading up stagecoaches to go where I assume is home. As well, I assume the word “breaking” to mean “individually pulling away from each other after the children are finished loading”. Coleridge finishes the first half of the second stanza by stating that those very same stagecoaches that have been loaded and break away are riding very quickly to the village of Greenwich in England.

“Now Youths the breaking stages load,

That swiftly rattling o'er the road

To Greenwich haste away;”

In the second half of stanza two, the imaginings of happiness and springtime joy continue. Coleridge states that while those youths on the stagecoaches venture back home, just as well some stay, or venture home by boat. The term “sounding oars” could mean one of two things, or both; When one “sounds” or “is sounding” water it means they are measuring the depth of the water, as well sounding most likely also refers to the fact of the sound the oars splitting the water make, while all who paddle sing an Easter song. “Lay” is an archaic MIddle English term derived from the Old French “lai” meaning “song, play, or melody”.

“While some with sounding oars divide

Of smoothly-flowing Thames the tide:

All sing the festive lay.”

Stanza three -

In the third stanza, Coleridge shows off his school learn’d studies a little, while still following the idea of bountiful happiness ; The first line of the third stanza shows influence from Horace, Horace was an influential figure for most of the English romantics, and Byron, Wordsworth, and Coleridge as examples all have poems that mention Horace as an influence. Coleridge is stating in the first half of the third stanza “With merry or amusing dancing (the children) stomp and dance on the ground; their pleasurable joys echoing and reverberating through all the fields and hills - those very same hills (personified as people once again) catch the cheerful or lighthearted springtime laughter and noise.

“With mirthful dance they beat the ground,

Their shouts of joy the hills resound

And catch the jocund noise:”

Coleridge continues his talk of spring jollity but changes the viewpoint and focus from happiness, to the end of that happiness with the arrival of a quick and dark evening. Interestingly enough though Coleridge seems to mention that the children's “good moments” flying in transports together do so seemingly without complaint, no tears and no sighs, and without any sort of upset. Coleridge is beginning to get into the real content of the poem: The idea of virtue conquering suffering.

“Without a tear, without a sigh,

Their moments all in transports fly

Till evening ends their joys.”

Stanza four -

In the first half of the fourth stanza, Coleridge starts to direct the poem to it’s ultimate point as mentioned previously. Coleridge states here that the children’s hearts, that focus on and see only joy and happiness because of the fact that their innocent youth is still alive. They do not think of the thousands of ways in which “extremely serious or urgent and various blows and unlucky pains Misfortune (as a figure) can provide; Once again hidden because of the youthful age of the child.

“But little think their joyous hearts

Of dire Misfortune's varied smarts,

Which youthful years conceal;”

In the second half of the fourth stanza, the previous idea continues. The children are not cognizant of their thoughtlessness. They are incapable of perceiving how the figure of woe smiles bitterly because of the events of adult life. Coleridge states that rather ALL mankind (meaning man and woman) are BORN to know and feel this bitter smiling woe that those children themselves shall eventually be a product of or to.

“Thoughtless of bitter-smiling woe,

Which all mankind are born to know,

And they themselves must feel.”

Stanza five -

In the first half of the fifth stanza, Coleridge essentially names what his lesson or idea of the poem is: Virtue conquering Suffering. Coleridge states how one can conquer the problems of the last stanza: “The one, who keeps his imagination set in the mindframe of wisdom, God’s understanding and His truth, as well as keeping a behaviour that is firmly set in high moral standards feels or expresses contempt or derision for the pains and problems that lie in becoming obsessive with and lost in power and money and the issues that money causes one who isn’t wise or virtuous”. As well, one who has those properties will feel contempt at “ills in Fortune’s power” which to this author means “feeling disgust or contempt to the problems in one’s way of success that are conquerable”. To me, Coleridge is stating that one who is wise and virtuous will not fall slave to the greediness that Fortune causes, as well as, they will be able to actually use their willpower to conquer whatever problem lies in the way of Fortune. They will not cry, will not weep at any arising problem, rather they will face it with wisdom and virtue and conquer.

“Yet he, who wisdom's paths shall keep

And virtue firm, that scorns to weep

At ills in Fortune's power;”

In the second half of the fifth stanza, Coleridge continues his idea of those with wisdom and virtue conquering the ills of life; he personifies those issues as natural weather. Coleridge states that “One with those properties discussed in the last half of the stanza, will cheerfully and happily spend the time whether in perfect stability (calm serene) or rampant randomness and torture (raging storms) during any of life’s “varitable scenes” (moments of importance or every day life)

“Through this life's variegated scene,

In raging storms - or calm serene,

Shall cheerful spend the hour.”

Stanza six -

In the first half of the sixth and final stanza, Coleridge continues with his main idea of virtue conquering strength. Coleridge states that “He, who lets his high moral standards guide his mind shall never be weary or shed tears, for they will only find goodness in what arises, they shall only find wisdom when looking at life, never to shed a tear of sorrow.”

“While steady Virtue guides his mind,

Heav'n-born Content he still shall find,

That never sheds a tear:”

In the second half of the sixth and final stanza, Coleridge continues with his idea of “mind-guided virtue”. Coleridge states that no matter the weather, no matter the wind, no matter the depths of the metaphoric water that gives and recedes good and ill, one who stays virtue-centric shall fell goodness in all things, therefore (with this viewpoint) like how Coleridge MAY have viewed his Easter Holidays: Depressing for himself with being unable to see his family and his deceased Father, but the only children do not have that viewpoint - only one of naive joyful youth, BUT we have to remember Coleridge was projecting his views with this poem, Coleridge made himself the subject, therefore Coleridge sees HIS way of making it through life HIS like HE makes it through Easter: constant thoughts of virtue and seeing the world through the lens of God’s wisdom, despite everyone else around him not needing to think so much on the process of “happiness” or “how to view the world in a non-depressing way”, something that is still VERY MUCH relevant to the youth of this day and age and always will be - how to find happiness in a free and democratic society, where freewill and varying viewpoints can cause one so much pain and sorrow.”

“Without respect to any tide,

His hours away in bliss shall glide,

Like Easter all the year.”

Coleridge’s 235 year old solution to that freewill? What you think you become.

When you force yourself to see events through a lens of wisdom and virtue - you become filled with wisdom and virtue, and if you see the World and it’s events in a shameful, cruel, and evil way that is precisely what becomes of the viewer if they do not house the lens of God’s wisdom and one’s own virtue in their perceptions.