Meditations in Lime Tree Bower My Prison

In Samuel Coleridge's poem "This Lime Tree Bower my Prison" the narrator expresses his thoughts and feelings about his friends who go on a nature walk without him. The speaker is unable to attend the nature walk due to a physical handicap. So while his friends go out to walk amongst nature, the speaker is stuck by himself in a garden. The speaker of this poem embarks on an imaginative journey through his meditations which ultimately change his perspective of life and nature.

The speaker begins this poem by expressing his feelings of isolation. His depressed feelings are triggered when his friends embark on a nature walk without him. He feels extremely alienated from his friends, which becomes the main barrier of this poem. The speaker feels like he is missing out on nature by being confined in a garden away from his friends. He even goes on to label the garden in which he is sitting a prison. By describing his current location as a prison the speaker is expressing his feelings of isolation from his friends. Nature acts as the speaker's connection to his friends. When they leave on a nature walk without him the speaker feels completely detached to his friends.