S. T. cloredige poet As a Critic

S. T. poet As a Critic


Coleridge is one in all the best of literary critics, and his greatness has been virtually universally recognized. He occupies, doubtless, the clenched fist place among English literary critics. once eliminating one once another the potential contenders for the title of the best critic, Saintsbury concludes:

"So, then there abide these 3 – philosopher, Longinus and poet."

According to poet, Coleridge's Biographia Literaria is,

"… the best book of criticism in English."

Herbert scan concludes poet as:

" … head and shoulders on top of each alternative English critic."

I. A. Richards considers him because the fore-runner "of the fashionable science of semantics", and Rene Wellek is of the read that he's a link, "between German philosophy and English Romanticism."

A man of colossal learning, each in philosophy and literature, ancient also as trendy, and refined sensibility and penetration intellect, poet was eminently fitted to the task of a critic. His sensible criticism consists of his evaluations of the bard and alternative English dramatists, and of John Milton and Wordsworth. Despite the actual fact there area unit such a big amount of digressions and repetitions, his sensible criticism is often illuminating and extremely original. it's made in suggestions of so much reaching price and significance, and flashes of insight seldom to be met with in the other critic. His greatness is well brought out, if we have a tendency to detain mind the state of sensible criticism in European nation before him. The Neo-classic critics judged on the idea of fastened rules. They were neither legislative nor judicial, nor were frenzied by their prejudices. poet doesn't choose on the idea of any rules. He doesn't pass any judgment, however provides his responses and reactions to a piece of art. His criticism is impressionistic-romantic, a replacement quite criticism, a criticism that dealt a knock out blow to neo-classic criticism, and has been in obscure, a lot of or less, ever since. He might discover new beauties in the bard and will create contemporary re-valuations of variety of English masters. Similarly, his criticism of Wordsworth and his theories change US to guage him and his views within the correct perspective.

In the field of theoretical inquiry, poet was the primary to introduce psychological science and philosophy into literary criticism. He was inquisitive about the study of the method of poetic creation, the terribly principles of activity, and for this functions freely player upon philosophy and psychological science. He therefore created philosophy the idea of literary inquiry, and therefore caused a union of philosophy, psychological science and literary criticism. His literary theories have their bases in philosophy; he imparted to criticism the dignity that belongs to philosophy. He philosophized literary criticism and therefore caused a stronger and more true understanding of the method of creation and therefore the nature and performance of poetry.

His greatest and most original contribution to literary criticism is his theory of imagination. Addison had examined the character and performance of imagination, and Wordsworth, too, had developed his own theory on the topic. however all previous discussions of imagination look superficial and infantile when put next with Coleridge's treatment of the topic. he's the primary critic to differentiate between Imagination and Fancy, and to differentiate between primary and secondary Imagination. Through his theory of imagination he revolutionized the conception of inventive imitation. Poetic imitation is neither a servile copy of nature, not is it the creation of one thing entirely new and completely different from Nature. Poetry isn't imitation, however creation, however it's creation supported the sensations and impressions received from the external world. Such impressions area unit formed, ordered, changed and opposites area unit reconciled and harmonised, by the imagination of the author, and during this method poetic creation takes place.

Further, as David Daiches points out:

"It was poet United Nations agency finally, for the primary time, resolved the age recent downside of the relation between the shape and content of poetry."

Through his philosophical inquiry into the character and price of poetry, he established that a literary composition is associate degree organic whole, which its type is set by its content, and is important to it content. therefore metre and rhyme, he showed, don't seem to be simply, "pleasure super-added", not simply one thing superfluous which may be distributed with, not mere decoration, however essential to it pleasure that is that the true poetic pleasure. This demonstration of the organic wholeness of a literary composition is one in all his major contributions to literary theory.

Similarly, his theory of "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" marks a major advance over earlier theories on the topic. His read that in the reading of a literary composition or the witnessing of a play, there's neither belief nor disbelief, however a mere suspension of disbelief, isn't universally accepted as correct, and therefore the arguing on the topic has been finally set at rest.

However, it should be mentioned within the finish that as Coleridge's views area unit too philosophical, he's a critic no straightforward to grasp. typically it's fragmental and unsystematic . Victorians, in general, couldn't appreciate him and his charm was confined to the few.

It is solely within the twentieth century that his literary criticism has been really understood and recognition and appreciation have followed. these days his name stands terribly high, and plenty of move to him for inspiration and illumination. Despite the fragmental nature of his work, he's currently thought to be the foremost original critic of European nation.

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