此篇論文目的在於探索浪漫時期英國詩人柯立玆在他的十四行詩作品當中所表達的美學思想和內心層面。這些詩一直以來都被評論家們所忽略；我想要證明，事實上這些詩也蘊藏了豐富的柯氏哲學思想。透過嚴謹的、一字一句的推敲，我仔細探尋他有關於愛情、綺想和創造力、人與自然之間的互動等方面的精萃思想。在引論中，我撰寫一個有關柯立茲作品語生平的簡扼介紹。在之後的分析中，他的十四行詩依據時間順序和主題被劃分成三階段：第一階段－早期模仿，第二階段－中期 描寫個人情感，和第三階段－晚期 描寫自然景觀和哲學思考。在第一階段－早期模仿中，我發現柯立茲最早開始寫十四行詩是，模仿浪漫時期十四行詩復興運動的夏略特史密絲和威廉包爾的陰鬱風格，同時他也模仿米爾頓的應景詩。但是柯氏的憂鬱情感並不真實，沒有說服力，也達不到如同史密絲和包爾的戲劇性效果。而且他的韻腳安排十分混亂，如此顯示出他想要脫離傳統義大利十四行詩的押韻系統、尋找出更適合於英語的押韻方式。這時期他的模仿詩作並沒有達到令他自己滿意的效果，故而迫使他在下一階段轉向不同的題材和主題。在第二階段－中期 描寫個人情感，我發現柯立茲把題材轉到他的家庭生活和個人的愛情後，已逐漸打造出個人的風格。此時的十四行詩不再堆砌華麗的裝飾詞藻，改用樸實無華的字詞和自然的口語，為他的誠摯情感和瞬間爆發的熱情作最真實的紀錄。在第三階段－晚期 描寫自然景觀和哲學思考，我觀察到柯立茲因受到德國哲學思考的影響，在他的十四行詩中也有人與自然互動關係的相關描寫；更甚之，在面臨死亡之時，柯氏紀錄下他對死亡的恐懼、放棄追尋在大自然中的喜悅、轉往宗教尋求慰藉。此時的詩作顯示出他的巧思，能夠在一首詩中插入好幾個不同的主題、彼此融合協調，並且使用相當洗鍊的字詞、達到最精確的效果。最後，總括來說，他的詩作演變明白顯示出他從生澀到成熟的詩作技巧；在十四行詩中的主題和寫作技巧也呼應他的文學理論和著名長詩。柯立茲不但扮演著繼承先前十四行詩詩人的角色，更為後繼者渥姿華玆、雪萊和濟慈的先驅，使得十四行詩加入浪漫時代的精神。因為如此之重要性，柯立茲的十四行詩在他自己的作品整體性中是不可或缺的。

This study intends to explore the aesthetics and psychology of Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) as expressed in his sonnets. This group of poems has been ignored by critics, but I would like to argue that they actually give profound expression to his philosophical theories. Through close reading, I attempt to analyze the essential parts of his concepts about love, the primary and secondary imagination, and the relationship between human and the nature. In the introductory chapter, I offer a brief survey of Coleridge’s life and works. In the analysis that follows, his sonnets are categorized thematically as well as chronologically. In the second chapter “Early Sonnets—In the Imitation Mode,” I find that Coleridge first started writing sonnets by imitating the melancholic style of Charlotte Smith and William Bowles of the Romantic sonnet revival as well as John Milton’s occasional sonnets. I argue that his melancholy was, however, unreal and thus he did not attain as dramatic an effect as his models. Simultaneously, the irregular rhyme scheme in his sonnets revealed his intention to experiment with various possibilities in order to find out a more proper form for English use. His dissatisfaction with such imitative sonnets led to his change in topic and material in the next stage. In the third chapter “Sonnets of Personal Affection,” I find that Coleridge, gradually developing his personal style, focused on family life and personal passion in his sonnets. My argument is that his sonnets then contain no decorative words but plain language and an intimate and lively tone, record of his sincerity and sudden thrust of intensive emotion. In this period, he frequently used the final couplet and then made better use of the sonnet form. In the fourth chapter “Sonnets of Landscapes and Philosophy,” I observe the fact that Coleridge, attracted by German aesthetics, interwove the issue of the relationship between the human mind and external objects into his sonnets; moreover, shortly before his death, Coleridge showed his terror of death and turned to religion for comfort, abandoning the joy in nature. The sonnets then showed his creativity to combine several themes in one single sonnet and the uses of terse words. The sonnets in this period became deeper in meaning, and more philosophical. At last, in the fifth chapter, I come to a conclusion that the development of Coleridge’s sonnet-writing shows a clear picture of his poetic growth; the themes and writing skills in sonnets correspond to Coleridge’s literary theory and major poems. Moreover, with these sonnets, Coleridge was a successor of previous sonneteers in Romantic sonnet revival and a pioneer of Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats--to modernize sonnet by applying it for Romantic use. With such importance, Coleridge’s sonnets are indispensable from the totality of his literary glory.

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