# Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Table-Talk character guide

> Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Table-Talk by William Hazlitt.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Coleridge, Coleridge, himself

**First appearance:** 0003-volume-i-on-genius-and-common-sense

## Snapshot

The philosopher-poet whose talking face Hazlitt studies like a text, finding in its blankness a troubling gap between words and mind.

## Who they are

Coleridge appears in Hazlitt's reflections as a man whose words 'might create a soul under the ribs of death' while his face remains a blank—lips moving mechanically, pain and languor the only visible inmates. Hazlitt uses him to explore the second sight of morals, the way we discern a person's truth not in their phrases but in their whole deportment. He matters because he is the book's most intimate case of the divided self, the genius whose outward coldness may conceal an inflammable spirit, or may not.

## Relationships

### [William Hazlitt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters/william_hazlitt)

_friendship_

Hazlitt was initially a devoted disciple and friend of Coleridge, though later disillusionment and political differences strained their bond.

### [William Hazlitt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters/william_hazlitt)

_friendship_

Hazlitt was initially a devoted disciple and friend of Coleridge, though later disillusionment and political differences strained their bond.

## In the story

### [Character of Cobbett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-i-character-of-cobbett)

Mentioned briefly as someone who pretends to consistency, in contrast to Cobbett's frank disavowal of his own past opinions.

### [On Thought and Action](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-i-on-thought-and-action)

Referenced for his classification of Bonaparte as an active rather than intellectual character.

### [On Going a Journey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-going-a-journey)

Quoted as a poet whose lines Hazlitt recalls at Llangollen; also mentioned as a former friend whose conversational brilliance he admires.

### [On Coffeehouse Politicians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-coffeehouse-politicians)

Mentioned as an example of good company due to his ability to establish a division of labor between speaker and listeners.

### [On Great and Little Things](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-great-and-little-things)

Referenced in the context of poets' vanity and the treatment of subjects in poetry.

### [On the Disadvantages of Intellectual Superiority](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-the-disadvantages-of-intellectual-superiority)

Mentioned as someone who talks to people about what they don't understand, contrasting with Hazlitt's approach.

### [On Patronage and Puffing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-patronage-and-puffing)

Recounted as delivering a tirade against the gullibility of the English public regarding Master Betty, then praising a young artist he discovered in Italy.

### [On the Knowledge of Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-the-knowledge-of-character)

Cited for his tragedy 'Remorse' and the soliloquy of Ordonio, illustrating the psychological evasion of guilt.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters/samuel_taylor_coleridge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters