Corresponding Society

Abstract

In its definitions and examples, Johnson’s Dictionary preserves the rich compound of significations—relational, political, and textual— that characterizes the correspondence of John Thelwall and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. From the moment it began in the spring of 1796 (with Coleridge’s memorable opener “Pursuing the same end by the same means we ought not to be strangers to each other” [CLSTC I.204]), theirs was an intertextual and interpersonal exchange in which the inspiring intimacy of fraternal sympathy and common cause alternated with an equally stimulating antagonism of jealous rivalry and zealous opposition, in the reciprocal rhythm of action and reaction that would become the cornerstone of Thelwall’s later speech and poetic theory. Though their correspondence, broadly understood in Johnson’s terms, extends far beyond the epistolary medium to include the poetry, essays, and lectures that I will cover in later chapters, the letters written during the period of their initial intimacy (1796–1797) offer a natural starting point. It is one of the most frequently quoted collections of correspondence in literary history, even though half of it is missing. Coleridge used his letters to Thelwall to formulate some of his most important critical principles, at a critical point in his development.

To CORRESPOND. v.n. [con and respondeo, Latin.]

1. To suit; to answer; to be proportionate; to be adequate to; to be adapted; to fit.

2. To keep up commerce with another by alternate letters.

CORRESPONDENCE n.s, CORRESPONDENCY

1. Relation; reciprocal adaptation of one thing to another.

2. Intercourse; reciprocal intelligence.

Sure the villains hold a correspondence /With the enemy., and thus they would betray us. Denham

3. Friendship; interchange of offices or civilities

(Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language)