s imagination then takes a positive turn when he is purified by the glow of the sun. He discovers that he was 'no prisoner,' as his mind had allowed him to escape. He comes to the conclusion that nature never deserts us and that to be denied pleasure, stimulates us to' lift the soul and contemplate' the joys of others, thereby exercising our imagination. Coleridge also realises that though he could not go on the walk he could experience it through the powers of his imagination. Imagining the route they took enabled him to undertake the journey with them.
The Lime Tree Bower My Prison is a conversational poem with an opening bordering on colloquialism, 'Well they are gone.' Coleridge employs the language techniques of repetition- 'wide wide,' alliteration- 'slowly sink,' assonance and consonance throughout the poem to depict the confining environment of the 'roaring dell,' which in turn is an analogy of his subconscious mind. The cold description of 'unsunned and damp' is perhaps a reflection of his depressing mood. In turn these techniques also express the poet's changing mood. Symbolism is used in representing the sun's glow as purification. The poem also presents a series of contrasts, such as confinement/space, presence/absence and sadness/joy. Through this insight, Coleridge
...