ABSTRACT
Samuel Taylor Coleridge reflections highlight a conception of the theater as the place where political, moral, metaphysical, and aesthetical issues interlace. Coleridge’s preference for William Shakespearean plays, where, imagination being at its highest, the quality of the texts is almost self-sufficient, and decoration is hardly necessary. Romantic drama, which is implicitly considered superior to its classic predecessor, not only begins with Shakespeare, but coincides with his plays. Statements asserting the deep morality permeating Shakespeare’s texts are scattered throughout Coleridge’s Shakespearean lectures. Given Coleridge’s conception of drama, his sharp criticism of contemporary productions can hardly be surprising. For Coleridge, a different sort of drama is needed in order to heal society—a moral drama that deals with metaphysical issues under the mask of historical events. Coleridge’s efforts to produce such atmosphere can be seen in the network of references he establishes between his characters and those in Shakespeare’s play, first of all in connection with mother figures.
