Question

Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria is notable for introducing his ideas about:

• A. Romantic aesthetics
• B. Imagination and fancy
• C. Poetic meter
• D. Historical criticism

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Imagination and fancy

Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is notable for introducing his ideas about: 

• Imagination

  Coleridge's theory of imagination is considered one of his most important contributions to literary criticism. He believed that imagination is a creative power that shapes and orders sensations and impressions from the world outside. 

• Fancy

  Coleridge was the first critic to distinguish between imagination and fancy. He believed that fancy and imagination have different influences on poetry. 

• Primary and secondary imagination

  Coleridge divided imagination into two faculties: primary and secondary. Primary imagination is the basic mental capacity to observe and organize perceptions from the external world. Secondary imagination relies on the will to recreate primary imagination. 

• Willing suspension of disbelief

  Coleridge was the first to use the phrase "willing suspension of disbelief", which is the idea that readers can immerse themselves in fiction without concern for how or why certain events occur. 

Coleridge was a British poet, critic, and philosopher. He was fascinated with imagination and its creative potential throughout his life.