And hark! the Nightingale begins its song,
"Most musical, most melancholy" bird!
A melancholy bird? Oh! idle thought!
In Nature there is nothing melancholy.
But some night-wandering man whose heart was pierced
With the remembrance of a grievous wrong,
Or slow distemper, or neglected love,
(And so, poor wretch! filled all things with himself,
And made all gentle sounds tell back the tale
Of his own sorrow) he, and such as he,
First named these notes a melancholy strain.
And many a poet echoes the conceit; . . .

In these lines, Coleridge challenges the conventional perception of the nightingale's song as melancholy. He attributes the idea to the projections of sorrowful individuals who have imposed their personal griefs onto the bird's song. To Coleridge, nature in its essence is devoid of melancholy; it is human emotions that color our interpretation of natural phenomena. The passage exemplifies Romanticism's belief in the purity and innocence of nature, untouched by human woes. Coleridge's assertion that "in Nature there is nothing melancholy" underscores the Romantic ideal that nature itself is a source of joy and vitality, and it is only through human perception that it becomes tinged with sadness. This reflection encourages a reevaluation of how we allow our emotions to shape our understanding of the natural world.