Smile, folks. Happiness is a huge part of Coleridge's poem. For him, it needs to have a spiritual solution. Genuine joy comes with encountering God in Nature. It's not something that comes from playing Grand Theft Auto VIII, or blowing up aliens' heads in a virtual reality simulator (though plenty of people would beg to differ). Coleridge reflects on the roots of his own unhappiness and melancholy—his distance and alienation from Nature in his childhood—and hopes that his son will find a pathway to something better. Ultimately, happiness doesn't come from exerting your willpower over people or desiring more distractions. Rather, in Coleridge's view it comes from appreciating reality and from cultivating personal relationships with friends and family.
Questions About Happiness
- Does Nature have the ability to make us happier? Would we all enjoy life more if we lived in touch with it—or not?
- Is there a difference between the happiness we get from eating a corndog and the happiness we get from being in Nature or spending time with someone we love? If there is, what might that be, and why?
- Is Coleridge happy? What impression does the poem give you?
Chew on This
Despite his efforts to convince us otherwise, it's pretty clear that our speaker isn't a happy person.
The fact that he can recognize and name a true source of happiness (the natural world) is an indication that our speaker is more authentically happy than most (expect, you know, maybe Pharrell).