ABSTRACT
Coleridge set great store by his criticism of Hamlet. Accustomed as he was to the prospect of his own failure, Coleridge was willing to bear the brunt of the criticism implied by Hamlet's in order to claim kinship with his genius. The analogy which he draws between himself and Hamlet extends well beyond their common irresolution and inactivity. Coleridge's discussion of Milton has never received the praise that has been lavished on his Shakespearean criticism. Coleridge's lecture to the Royal Society of Literature, entitled 'On the Prometheus of Aeschylus', says so little explicitly about the play that it is not usually included in discussions of his literary criticism. Coleridge's interpretation of the play bears witness to the empirical and realistic foundations of his thought. Much of Coleridge's admiration of literary works depends upon the extent to which they exemplify what he takes to be the most important issues of philosophy and theology.
