In Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight," the speaker glorifies his childhood innocence by comparing it to the unbridled freedom of nature. He compares the expansiveness of nature, "with all the numberless goings-on of life," to the innocence and freedom of a child's mind (Coleridge, 12). While reared in the city, Coleridge's mind rested in nature, in the possibility. As he, as an adult, looks at his own child, he wishes for his own son to be overwhelmed by the power of the natural world: "But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze/ By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags/Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds." (Coleridge, 55-57) In a way, he is creating a natural cycle. Not only is there a sense of freedom in nature, but an openness that Coleridge claims can likewise be found in innocent children. He writes of encounters with strangers in a slightly light and positive tone, demonstrating the purity of childhood acceptance. It is through nature, Coleridge argues, that this naivety and acceptance can be regained because nature parallels the beauty of a child's mind. He can return to a more glorious time through his appreciation and emotional connection to nature.
Would you say that there is a parallel between not only nature and unbridled youth, but also the seasons and aging? This idea comes up in many works of literature with winter being death and spring being rebirth. In light of this, I think that it's interesting that Coleridge is thinking about Hadley's future in the winter, when one would imagine a time of death. This perplexes me and makes me wonder if he is worried about Hadley's future and survival in the world when they are in this setting of blackness and sickness-causing cold.
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