It is well considered that the works of Sir William Jones and Samuel Taylor Coleridge reflect the theory of Orientalism in which Edward Said defined it as a timeless era which was fueled by imperialism. Their contributions also reflect the theory of Orientalism in which it reflects that much of the Orientalist work were inherently political and servile to imperialism. This could go to the point that the works of Sir William Jones and Samuel Taylor Coleridge reflects that European Society is developed, rational, and superior. It is also well considered that the works of Sir William Jones and Samuel Taylor Coleridge show a great deal of respect towards the culture of the East in every conceivable way produce an accurate survey of the East which is designed for the Europeans.
It is well considered that Sir William Jones is an Orientalist based on his position of power when he was on the Supreme Court in Calcutta to the point that it reflected Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism that the “Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” (Said 3). This could go to the point that Sir William Jones is considered to be an imperialist in a sense that he spent most of his life trying to educate the Europeans about the mysticism and rationality of Hinduism through his poem in his nine ‘Hymns’ to Hindu deities. Sir William Jones is also considered an imperialist to the point that he theorized that both the West and the Orient must help each other on terms of cultures. This theory proved to be efficient for Jones when he is considered the father of the Indo-European language family when he considered that the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit languages had a common root. This could go to the point that the imperialist ideology of Sir William Jones reflect the well being of the world in a sense to romanticize the Orient that is designed for the Europeans. Jones romanticize the essence of India by writing:
Wrapt in eternal solitary shade,
Th’ impenetrable gloom of light intense,
Impervious, inaccessible, immense,
Ere spirits were infus’d or forms display’d,
Brehm his own Mind survey’d,
As mortal eyes (thus finite we compare
With infinite) in smoothest mirrors gaze:
Swift, at his look, a shape supremely fair
Leap’d into being with a boundless blaze,
That fifty suns might daze (A Hymn to Narayena).
This clearly demonstrates how Jones was able to glorify the Orient in a sense that he wanted the Europeans to understand the Orient in a Romanticized way to show the Europe was able to dominate the Orient.
It is well considered that Samuel Taylor Coleridge is an Orientalist based on the era of Romanticism in a sense that his poem reflect the glory of China that is designed for the Europeans. This could go to the point that the way Coleridge romanticized China was through his dreams when he experienced an opium-influenced dream after reading a work describing Xanadu, the summer palace of the Mongol ruler and the Emperor of China Kublai Khan. Coleridge’s dream reflect Said’s theory of Orientalism in which the “Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” (Said 3). This could go to the point that the “Orient has helped to define Europe” (Said 1). It is also well considered that Samuel Taylor Coleridge is an imperialist based on his poem Kubla Khan in which he glorified the Orient based on his dreams and readings. This could go to the point that the imperialist ideology of Samuel Taylor Coleridge reflect the well being of the world in a sense to romanticize the Orient that is designed for the Europeans. Coleridge romanticized the essence of China by writing:
In Xanadu did KUBLA KHAN
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where ALPH, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills
Where blossom’d many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery (178. Kubla Khan 512-513).
This clearly demonstrates how Coleridge was able to glorify the Orient in a sense that he wanted the Europeans to understand the Orient in a Romanticized way to show the Europe was able to dominate the Orient.
The works of Sir William Jones and Samuel Taylor Coleridge reflects to us that Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism in a way to give us a sense that the “Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” (Said 3). This could go to the point that the “Orient has helped to define Europe” (Said 1). This could also go to the point that the works of Sir William Jones and Samuel Taylor Coleridge reflects Plato, The Allegory of the Cave in which Socrates told Glaucon that “you must not wonder that those who attain to this beatific vision are unwilling to descend to human affairs; for their souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell; which desire of theirs is very natural, if our allegory may be trusted” (Plato, The Allegory of the Cave).
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