Biographia Literaria – S.T. Coleridge

 Biographia Literaria – S.T. Coleridge

Chapter XIII

1. Three parts of the Chapter:
   1. Philosophical (Continuation of Previous Chapter)
      1. Deals with the philosophy of Descartes, Transcendental idealism of Kent and Schelling
   2. Letter
      1. From a friend, a man of judgement and Knowledge, Coleridge’s opinions are strange to him.
      2. Asks him to withdraw the chapter on imagination for two reasons: Too Long. Common readers would not be able to understand.
   3. Difference:
      1. Fancy and Imagination
      2. Primary and Secondary Imagination
2. “The Imagination then I consider either as primary, or secondary. The primary Imagination I hold to be the living power and prime agent of all human perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM. The secondary Imagination I consider as an echo of the former, co-existing with the conscious will, yet still as identical with the primary in the kind of its agency, and differing only in degree, and in the mode of its operation. It dissolves, diffuses, dissipates, in order to recreate: or where this process is rendered impossible, yet still at all events it struggles to idealize and to unify. It is essentially vital, even as all objects (as objects) are essentially fixed and dead. FANCY, on the contrary, has no other counters to play with, but fixities and definites. The fancy is indeed no other than a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space; while it is blended with, and modified by that empirical phaenomenon of the will, which we express by the word Choice. But equally with the ordinary memory the Fancy must receive all its materials ready made from the law of association.
3. What is Primary Imagination?  4
   1. Nature is the creation of God and nature (which is an eternal act of creation) is perceived by man who is constituted of infinite (I am) with the help of Imagination.
   2. Poets and ordinary persons equally share “the living power and prime agent of all human perception” not creative at all.
   3. Primary imagination is the power of perceiving the objects of sense.
4. What is Secondary Imagination? 4
   1. Secondary imagination is the echo of Primary Imagination, when Primary imagination is involuntary, unconscious, secondary imagination is voluntary and delibarate.
   2. It creates unity in diversity. Secondary imagination spreads the tone of atmosphere of the ideal world  over and around the objects of real and familiar world. The shaping and modifying power. and an esemplastic imagination.
   3. What is Esemplastic Imagination?
      1. esemplastic is a word from Greek means “to shape into one”. The Unifying power of imagination. This device is used by a poet using words, images, and emotions from a number of realms of human endeavour and thought and unifying them all into a single work.
      2. Differs from primary imagination not only on kind but also on degree as their modes of operation are different
5. What is Fancy? 4
   1. Derived from Greek word ‘Phantasia’
   2. Simply a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space.
   3. Coleridge said, “the faculty of bringing together images dissimilar in the main by some one  point or more of likeness.”
   4. It perceives into beautiful shapes but like imagination it does not fuse or unify. It deals with fixities and definites.
   5. It is blended and modified with the empirical phenomenon of will and choice.
   6. It receives all its materials from law of association.
   7. Mechanical mixture and Chemical mixture.
   8. It is inferior to Primary and Secondary Imagination. Not creative like imagination.
6. What is the difference between Fancy and imagination? 12
   1. When Wordsworth identifies Fancy as a creative power, Coleridge says it is inferior to Imagination and a simple carnal light imagination.
   2. fancy is light and playful power when imagination is grave and serious.
   3. Fancy does not want to achieve much, it simply plays with object of perception.
   4. Fancy plays with definite & simple images and does not modify them when imagination dissolves, diffuses, dissipates in order to recreate.
   5. Fancy selects images by choice 7 therefore only there is accumulation of images and not their perfect union.
   6. Fancy is the drapery(Dress) of poetic genius whereas imagination is the soul.
   7. Whereas Fancy rested on the mechanical and passive operations of one’s mind to accumulate and store data, imagination held a “mysterious power” to extract “hidden ideas and meaning” from such.

Chapter XIV

1. What is the Occasion of Writing Lyrical Ballads?
2. How did Coleridge defend Wordsworth?
3. Difference between Poem and poetry
   1. Show cross: ‘This distinction between poetry and poem is  not very clear, and instead of defining poetry he (Coleridge) proceeds to describe a poem, and from the poet he proceeds to innumerate the characteristics of imagination.”
   2. Difference between Prose and poetry:
      1. Both comprises words but poem combines word differently with the use of rhyme, meter, rhythm, the main difference is in (1) Combination  and (2) Object
      2. Immediate Object: In science immediate object provides truth, in History provides facts, but in poetry provides PLEASURE. In Prose both the PLEASURE and TRUTH.
      3. Ultimate Object: In Science, the ultimate object is to provide knowledge, in poetry, permanent pleasure, the power to unify.
      4. A poem is the piece of composition, which is opposed to the work of science by proposing its immediate object pleasure not truth. Some writings are without meter but can be called poetry.