\ “ey — ( Na \* Coleridge: Theory of Imagi Introduction: Coleridge ig one of the greatest literary crties, and his greatness has been almost recognised universally, Sainsbury considers Aristotle, Longinus and Coleridge the greatest critics. He is considered the father of impressionistic criticism. he introduced philosophy and psychology into literary critic wholen philosophical prineip! and to discourse on i nation im, revolutionised the concept of imagination and stressed the organle sof a poem, Coleridge ts the first Fnglish critic to hase his literary criticism on .s. While crities before him has been content to turn a poem inside out excellences and detects. Coleridge engaged himself with the basic question of how it came to be there at all, He was more intereste sess th made it what it was than in the finished product. He himself endeavoured. “to: establish the principles of writing rather than to furnish rules how to pass judgement on what-has be written by others’. These he sought to discover in the nature of man the faculty or faculties, of the human soul that gave it birth. fyiat ant OF Critical Works: Grecect faut = C4 Coleridge is one of the greatest poet-crities that Engkand has ever produced, He was genius. and when the mood w upon him. he could create works of the highest order, but he was incapable of sustained and persistent labour. He could work only by fits and starts which resulted in fragmentary and incomplete works. But the most important critieat works which discuss literary criticism are: *Biographia Literaria’ (1810) and ‘Leenmes on Shakespeare (1808-1819). While Lectures on Shakespeare’ are predominantly devoted t practical criticism. The “Biographia Literaria’ is a work on literary aesthetics or literary theory. The first part of “Biographiar Liveraria’ ic, From Chapter 1-XIII deals with iis philosophical and metaphysical theories and their impact on Coleridge was completed in 1815 Thereafier. he sent Preface to the book which now forms the second part of “Biographia Literarid” \e From Chapter XIV-XXII—it deals with critical analysis of Wordsworth’s theory of poetry and poetic diction. The link between the wo parts is the poet's theory of imagination has based literary criticism-on human psychology and used it to explain the creation. Fancy and Imagination: The terms fancy and imagination have been Inosely used and offen as synonyms During the 17" century both the terms referred to the world of fairy tale or make believe. Hobbes n of sen distinguished fancy from imagination: faney was used for sober literalis perceptions and the survival of these in memory. This was in accord with medieval and Renaissance tradition, where imaginatio and phantasia rad all along been fa ly close together. but where, so far as a distinetion was made. it was phantasia which meant the lighter and less responsible kind of imaging. In the light of 17" century reasonableness, fancy Suffered the decline in reputation and imagination occupied dominant place. A esriain softness, warmth and depth of good feeling yrew around the term imagination in its ‘Addisonian sense; it stayed close to the heart of the 18" century poetry. A corresponding coldness and a suggestion of unreliable frolic opposed the term fancy. The relative dignity of the two terms imagination and fancy was so well established in English wsage by the second decade of the 18" century that no matter what revised meanings Wordsworth and Coleridge snd others might assign to them. it was almost inevitable that the superior term should be imagination. \ In Chapter XIII of Biographia Literaria. Colerid c ttes ~The imagination then | consider either primary. or secondary. the primary imagination I hold to be the living power and prime agent of all human perception. and as @ repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite / am. The secondary. | consider an echo of the former. co- ‘Scanned with CamScannerSra the conscious will. yet still as identical with primary in the kind of its agency, ing only in degree and in the mode of its operation. It dissolves. diffuses. dissipates, in order to re-create. or where this process is rendered impossible. yet still. at all events, it struggles to idealize and to unily. 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 definities. The fancy is indeed no other than a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space’ Kinds of Imagination (1) Pri tion: It is the nature and function of imagination which distinguishes it from Coleridge. Imagination has two forms i.e. Primary and Secondary. Primary imagination is merely the power of receiving impressions of the external world through the senses. It is the power of perceiving the objects of sense, both in their parts and as a whole, It is an involuntary act of mind: the human mind receives the impressions and sensations from the outside world, unconsciously and involuntarily. it imposes some sort of order on those impressions. reduces them to shape and size, so that the mind is able to form a clear image of the outside world. It is in this way that clear and coherent perception becomes possible. (2) Secondary Imagination: The primary imagination is universal. it is possessed by all. The secondary imagination. on the other hand. may be possessed by others also. but it is the peculiar and distinctive attribute of the artist, It is the secondary imagination that which makes artistic creation possible. It is more active and conscious in its working, It requires an effort of the will. volition and conscious effort. It works upon what is perceived by the primary imagination. its raw material is the sensations and impressions supplied to it by the primary imagination. By an effort of the will and the intellect. the secondary imagination selects and orders the raw material and reshapes and remodels it into objects of beauty, It is esemplastic ie. ~a shaping and modifying power” which by its plastic stress-—reshapes objects of the external world and steeps them with glory and dream that never was on sea and land. {tis an active agent which “dissolves. diffuses, dissipates. in order to create”. This secondary imagination is at the root of all poetic activity. It is the power which harmonises and reconciles opposites, and hence a “magical. synthetic power”. This unifying power of the imagination is best seen in the act that it synthesises or fuses the various faculties of the soul— perception, intellect. will, emotion—and fuses the internal with the extemal, the subjective with the objective, the human mind with external nature, the spiritual with the physical and material. It is through the play of this unifying power that nature is coloured by the soul of the poet and soul of the poet is steeped in nature, The identity which poet discovers in man and nature results from the synthesising activity of the secondary imagination. The primary and secondary imaginations do not differ from each other in kind. The difference between them is one of degree. The secondary imagination is more active, more a result of volition, more conscious and more voluntary, than the primary one, The primary imagination, on the other hand. is universal, while the secondary is a peculiar privilege enjoyed by the artist Coleridge on Fancy and Imagination: Fancy and imagination differ in kind, ‘These are activities of two different kinds. Faney is nou a creative power at all. It only combines what it perceives, but like imagination it does not fuse and unify. The difference between the two is the same as the difference between a mechanical mixture and a chemical compound, In a mechanical mixture a number of ingredients are brought together. They are mixed up. but they do not lose their individual properties. They still exist as separate identities. In a chemical compound, on the other hand. the different ingredients combine to form something new, The different ingredients no longer mary In fancy. According t0 ‘Scanned with CamScannerexist as separate identities, They lose their respective properties and fuse together to create something new and entirely different. compound is an act of ercation; while a mixture is merely a bringing together of a number of separate elements, For Coleridge. fancy is the drapery (dress) of poetic genius, but ima soul, which forms all into one gracefial and harmonious whole Wordsworth and Coleridge on Imagination: Coleridge owed his interest in the study of imagination to Wordsworth, But Wordsworth was interested only in the practice of poetry. and he considered only the impact of imagination on poetry: Coleridge. on the other hand, is interested in the theory of imagination. He is the fist Phtic to study the nature of imagination and examine its role in creative activity. Secondly. While Wordsworth uses fancy and imagination almost as synonyms. Coleridge is the first critic to distinguish between them and define their respective roles. Thirdly. Wordsworth Goes not distinguish between primary and secondary imagination, Coleridge's treatment of the subject is. on the whole, characierised by greater depth, penetration and philosophical subtlety. It is his unique contribution to literary theory Conclusion: Coleridge differs from all previous English critics by his psychological approach to literary problems, He was not interested in a poem or play as such. It was what they displayed of human nature—"the seminal principle’ to which they owed their beauly ot signifieance—that interested him. His theory of poetry has its own limitations. It favours the romantic poetry and justifies the ways of the romantics to the world, of those who made the internal external and external internal, ignoring poetry that is not so written and which yet stood the test of the time, But it taught English crities to think for themselves rather than “parrot those who have parroted others’. nation is its very ene ‘Scanned with CamScannerQuestions Long Answer iene Questions: 7 Citiealy examine Coleridge’s contribution to English criticism. { _iScuss Coleridge's theory of Imagination 3. How fancy and imagination co-operate in artistic creation 4. Discuss kinds of imagination and their respective ro Short Answer Questions: 1. Briefly comment on the nature and function of faney 2. Briefly explain mechanical mixture and chemical compound. 3. Write a short note on Wordsworth and C oleridge’s views on fancy and imagination 4. Briefly discuss the secondary imagination as creative power. Objective Type Question: 7 1. Who has shortlisted Aristotle. Longinus and Coleridge as greatest critics? (a) Saintsbury (b) Eliot (c) Richards (d) Fry . Who revolutionized the concept of imagination? (a) Wordsworth (b) Coleridge (c) Richards (d) Leavis - Write True or False: Coleridge introduced philosophy and psychology into literary criticism, 4. Who propounded the concept of “willing suspension of disbelief"? (a) Wordsworth (b) Bradley (c) Coleridge (d) Kitto . “Lectures on Shakespeare’ by Coleridge primarily deals ...cri (a) Aesthetic (b) Descriptive (c) Legislative (d) Practical 6. Biographia Literaria’ contains...chapters. (a) 15 (b) 20 (c) 22 (d) 25 7. Fancy isa ...power. (a) Unifying (b) Shaping (c) Combinatory (d) Esemplastic 8. Esemplastic refers to...power (a) Combinatory (b) Shaping (c) Both (d) None 9, Write True or False: Primary Imagination is merely the power of receiving impressions of external world through the senses. 10. Secondary Imagination is...? | (a) Universal (a) Peculiar attribute of an artist 11, Imagination is compared with ...? (a) Chemical compound (b) Mechanical mixture w we sm ‘Scanned with CamScanner