Frost at Midnight

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1798

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Poem Analysis

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“Thoughts on a Still Night” by Li Bai (726 CE)

Li Bai’s “Thoughts on a Still Night” is among the most famous works of Chinese poetry. Like Coleridge in “Frost at Midnight,” Li’s speaker finds themself in a moment of stagnation that allows them to reflect on their old home. The frost in both poems acts as a marker of nighttime and as a call to contemplation while others are asleep. Though Coleridge was unlikely to be familiar with Li’s work, the Tang dynasty poet makes similar connections between frost, quiet, and contemplation.

“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth (1807)

William Wordsworth—Coleridge’s friend and collaborator—is likely the best-known member of the English Romantic movement. Like Coleridge, Wordsworth is concerned with finding beauty in the natural world. Many of Wordsworth’s poems share the natural sentiment of “Frost at Midnight,” but “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” demonstrates that the Romantic conception of the city is not wholly negative. Wordsworth and Coleridge rely on a similar set of images in their respective poems, but Wordsworth’s sonnet depicts the city as an object of beauty in its own right.

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1834)

Coleridge’s thematic concerns stay relatively consistent throughout his works. He composed “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” for the 1798 edition of Lyrical Ballads and reworked the poem in 1817 and 1834. The poem’s central narrative follows a mariner who finds himself stagnant on a windless sea after shooting an albatross and who redeems himself by observing nature’s beauty.

“White-Eyes” by Mary Oliver (2002)

Mary Oliver is an American poet who pays close attention to the natural world. “White-Eyes” plays with the same primary symbols and subjects as “Frost at Midnight” and focuses on a “wind-bird” (Line 4) that moves along the trees during winter. Oliver’s spare use of literary devices or poetic diction makes “White-Eyes” stand in stark contrast to Coleridge’s heightened language.

Further Literary Resources

Observations Prefixed to Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth (1802)

Wordsworth and Coleridge worked closely together for the original 1798 publication of Lyrical Ballads. The second edition of the collection, published in 1802, featured many more of Wordsworth’s poems and a now-famous preface. The preface, written entirely by Wordsworth, explains the collection’s poetic agenda. Ideas like poetry being a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” have become synonymous with English Romanticism.

Biographia Literaria, Chapter XIV by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1817)

One of Coleridge’s major non-poetic works, his Biographia Literaria combines autobiography, philosophy, and literary criticism into a narrative of Coleridge’s life. In the 14th chapter of the book, Coleridge explains how Wordsworth published the preface to Lyrical Ballads without his knowledge. Coleridge proceeds to explain how his poetic theories differ from Wordsworth’s. In particular, Coleridge pushes back against Wordsworth’s emphasis on ordinary language.

“An Introduction to the Poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge” by Richard Holmes (2010)

Richard Holmes’s Guardian article serves as an introduction to Coleridge that is as succinct as it is readable. Holmes discusses many of Coleridge’s most important works, including “Frost at Midnight,” and their shared imagery. Holmes is also careful to address the common tendency to dismiss many of Coleridge’s images as drug-induced hallucinations.

Listen to Poem

Richard Burton reads “Frost at Midnight” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Shakespearian actor Richard Burton’s reading of “Frost at Midnight” captures the poem’s solemn, contemplative tone. His slow, deliberate pronunciation highlights the poem’s sound effects and repetitions.