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Richard Holmes's radical division of the poems into eight categories of theme and genre casts a fresh light on the whole structure of Coleridge's work. It dispels the myth of the 'metaphysical dreamer' who wrote poetry only for a few ephemeral months of inspiration. At the heart are the Conversation Poems, a unified and beautifully crafted autobiographical sequence, composed over a period of twelve years. The volume also includes the little-known love poems to Asra, the robust Hill Walking Poems and the secret agony of the Confessional Poems. It also draws attention to previously undervalued later poetry born of restless old age and ironic reflection.
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