Towards the end of his life, Coleridge began to make new selections of his poetry by genre, and in this book Holmes follows his example, grouping the poetry not chronologically, as in most previous selections, but thematically and generically. The volume opens with 21 sonnets, nine Conversation Poems and six ballads; Love Poems, Confessional Poems, Hill Walking Poems, Visionary Fragments and finally Political Poems follow. Every poem is provided with a detailed critical and biographical note, which together, form a new survey of his work. In his general introduction, Holmes reviews Coleridges place in the Romantic movement, and in a short preface to each section, explains his originality and his imaginative genius in exploring traditional 18-century forms.