Coleridge and Goethe's Faust

What is it about?

This essay assesses the attribution of a translation of Goethe’s Faust as a lost Coleridge text, as published by Clarendon Press. Examining biographical evidence, suggested ‘verbal echoes’ of Coleridge’s works, and statistical support derived from stylometric-analysis software, I demonstrate that the case for the ‘discovery’ is error-strewn and conclude that ascription to Coleridge is incorrect.

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Why is it important?

This translation was announced as Coleridge's work in 2007, amidst considerable publicity. This was a major claim, yet it is clear that there are reasons to doubt the 'discovery'.