Why did Samuel Taylor Coleridge travel to Malta in 1804?

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Portrait of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge, detail of an oil painting by Washington Allston, 1814; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge traveled to Malta in 1804 primarily to seek relief for his deteriorating health, as he believed a warmer climate would be beneficial.1

During this period, Coleridge was suffering from worsening physical health, domestic unhappiness, and an increasing dependence on opium. While abroad, he accepted a position as secretary to the acting governor of Malta. Although his health did not improve as he had hoped, the experience served as a period of personal reappraisal, leading him to resolve to become more decisive upon his return to England.1