Poetry, even that of the loftiest, and seemingly, that of the wildest odes, [has] a logic of its own as severe as that of science; and more difficult, because more subtle, more complex, and dependent on more and more fugitive causes. In the truly great poets... there is a reason assignable, not only for every word, but for the position of every word.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeCall not that man wretched, who whatever else he suffers as to pain inflicted, or pleasure denied, has a child for whom he hopes and on whom he doats.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeThere are errors which no wise man will treat with rudeness while there is a probability that they may be the refraction of some great truth still below the horizon.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeIt is a flat'ning Thought, that the more we have seen, the less we have to say.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgePoetry gives most pleasure when only generally and not perfectly understood.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeWords in prose ought to express the intended meaning; if they attract attention to themselves, it is a fault; in the very best styles you read page after page without noticing the medium. Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are, the more necessary it is to be plain.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge