DSC 301: Biographia Literaria. Theory of Imagination (4) 26,

BL was written in 1817 by S.T. Coleridge. He lived from 1772 to 1834. Along with WW's Lyrical Ballads, it became very important mouthpiece of literary criticism begotten from the romantic age and falls under Romantic criticism. It is autobiographical and philosophical too. It is openly said that BL was written when ST Coleridge used to be in opium addicted mode. It is a book on Imagination which is the imitation of the worldy. According to Coleridge, language should not be very simple but be charged and creative enough. His theory of imagination in this book gives the new conception on poetry and poem in English literature. It is also a statement of Coleridge's principles in politics, philosophy, religion apart from the literary theory. BL is a voluminous book of 23 chapters. It is about Coleridge's self conception of creativity. It is a meditative narrative because it doesn't start with childhood chronologically. STC gets lost again and again in the philosophy of life, religion and opinions. He himself called it "unmethodical miscellany." It is supposed to be a preface to his poetry collection Sybyline Leaves (1817). In chapters 13,14 & 18, the presence of WW is perceived. Critics found these 3 chapters as very complex ones. He moves away from WW's views on language should mimic daily language. The book also falls under Appreciative Criticism derived German philosophy, where the poet or critic is a priest, author is god and the reader is a devotee. Association Psychology or Associationisn (Immanuel Kant) is about conneed ideas and then the final work is reached. Arthur Simons and George Saintsbury praised the work whereas T.S. Eliot found it lethargic.

According to STC, imagination is divided into two parts. They are pl and si. Pi is common and si is common but creative.

1. Primary Imagination is the living power and prime agent of all human perception. In it, the eyes capture the image and the mind is able to identify one image or object from one another. "It is the repetition in finite mind of eternal act of creation in infinite I AM". I AM is the god. God is the creator and we share a huge number of characteresitics with God. Finite mind is the human being's mind. The infinite links the primary Imagination with God. This pi is involuntary or automated. It is the basic cognitive perception and every human being has it in possession. It is a common faculty and resides in the subconscious part of our mind. And anything we see and understand is through this primary Imagination. Nothing new is created from it. Coletidge uses very rhetorical language in 13. Some of the important phrases in relation to PI are "divine ability to create," "source of all animate power," "involuntary perception" which describe his primary imagination at its best.

of the outer world followed by the "spontaneous act of mind," and "It is universal and is possessed by all."

2. After the perception of image in PI, the mind captures and processes it and secondary imagination is created. In the processing, the mind dissolves, diffuses, dissipated and then recreates. Here, the poet's creative power is witnessed and found to be very transformative. It is the echo of primary Imagination and transforms the ordinary into extraordinary. John Milton and William Shakespeare are great examples of secondary imagination. Their works are too creative and filled with diverse elements. All their emotions get dissolved very well. It diffuses the object and subject that was seen. Unlike pi, SI is not inborn. Everybody doesn't have the SI. It is different with PI not in kind but degree. This means, there are all the people who have primary Imagination and another section of people having higher or heightened part of PI and this becomes the SI. It is not a different kind but just enhanced in degree. SI coexists in conscious mind. So its task is also active in nature and creative. They act and create and it becomes the root of all art. The poem Daffodils uses SI following and processing the PI of the image of daffodils. The pi returns back to si. Esemplastic (unified form) is a characteristic or property of SI which is applied with knowledge, choice and will power. "It (esemplastic)  diffuses, dissipates in order to recreate." It brings diverse aspects together. In chapter 13, Coleridge also uses a satiric letter from a fictitiously created friend as a rhetorical device or trick to explain the nature of PI and SI. The friend warns him that his readers will be completely lost if he doesnt guide them. Apart from these, Latin has been used in between in the critique to give a classical vibe.

3. Fancy

Fancy has been described by Coleridge at the fag end of chapter 13 of BL. It is distinguished from imagination. It's task is not to create and not creative. It only combines what is perceived unlike imagination which the latter fuses. It is "the mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space," and a store house receiving all its materias readymade from various associations. It is mechanical and not organic. It just rearranges the images but does not create. It only acts as a reminder. It differs in kind but not in degree. Its task is different and not poetic. Often Abraham Cowley is associated with using fancy. "My luv is like a red, red, rose" is one of his famous fancied poem. It just collects and puts together.

4. Willing suspension of disbelief is found in chapter 14 of BL S.t.coleridge's use of supernatural in the poems kubla khan, Christabel (girl Geraldine praying in the dry, leafless forest at midnight in autumn season where there is an owl, dark clouds and the glimmering, bluish moon. Christabel finds Geraldine= associated psychology) the reader believes in the art despite knowing at the back of the mind that it is not real. STC himself calls his characters as "supernatural" and "romantic." Writer captures the mind of the reader or movie watcher or magic watcher. And his willing suspension of disbelief always constituted "poetic faith ." And this kind of scenes are willingly done by suspending our belief system so that we enjoy the creation or art. The main objective is entertainment. Modern examples are Harry Potter series. Here, the secondary imagination is massively used. Norman Holland a reader response critic says that human beings deliberately transfer to disbelief for the sake of entertainment. He tries to give them "human interest" and "semblance of disbelief."

6. Chapter 14 is about poetry and poet. Ch 18 deals with meter and diction. Poem vs Poetry.

Poetry is a part of poem. Poetry is for learning. Poem is for pleasure. The conflict gets resolved by S.T. Coleridge. In an ideal poem, truth is learning. Learning and pleasure become one. It is like this movement of a serpent. A great poem is not a collection of separate, beautiful lines but living whole where every part reacts and connects to every other part.