The Eolian Harp

poem by Coleridge

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June 26, 2026

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The "Aeolian Harp" is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1796. The poem draws its title from the Aeolian harp, a musical instrument that produces sound when wind passes over its strings. These instruments, popular during the Romantic movement, are box zithers with strings tuned to the same pitch that vibrate to create harmonics.1

Coleridge's poem explores themes of nature, imagination, and the divine, reflecting the broader concerns of Romantic poets like William Wordsworth and William Blake. The Aeolian harp serves as a metaphor within the poem, symbolizing the connection between the natural world and the human mind, and how external forces can inspire internal reflection and creativity.2

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English literature
Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge
…and the mind in “The Eolian Harp” (1796), he devoted himself to more-public concerns in poems of political and social prophecy, such as “Religious Musings” and “The Destiny of Nations.” Becoming disillusioned in 1798 with his earlier politics, however, and encouraged by Wordsworth, he turned back to the relationship…
Read More
…and the mind in “The Eolian Harp” (1796), he devoted himself to more-public concerns in poems of political and social prophecy, such as “Religious Musings” and “The Destiny of Nations.” Becoming disillusioned in 1798 with his earlier politics, however, and encouraged by Wordsworth, he turned back to the relationship…
Read More