Coleridge’s View on Fancy and Imagination
Biographia Literaria is a notable literary work by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Biographia Literaria.
Answer
Discuss Coleridge’s concept of ‘Fancy’ and ‘Imagination’ with reference to “Biographia Literaria.”
In “Biographia Literaria” (1817), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) explains two important ideas: fancy and imagination. He says that these two powers help us create and understand poetry. But they are very different. Fancy is simple and mechanical. It just copies existing things. But imagination is deep and creative. It helps a man to create something new. Coleridge believed that imagination is the true soul of poetry. He also divides imagination into two types. Let us study this concept clearly.
Imagination as a Creative Power: Coleridge says that imagination is the most essential part of poetry. It is powerful and creative. It helps poets mix many thoughts and images into one strong feeling or idea. This power helps us feel beauty and truth in poetry. Imagination gives order to our thoughts. It makes something new and meaningful. Coleridge uses a special word for it: esemplastic. This means shaping different things into one whole. So, imagination is not just copying. It is creating something new. In the following writing, we will examine its two special variants. The importance of imagination in poetry is present in the following quotation.
“Finally, a good sense is the body of poetic genius, fancy is drapery, motion its life and imagination the soul, that is everywhere and in each.”
In this line from Chapter 14, the writer shows the role of both fancy and imagination in poetry.
Primary Imagination: Primary imagination is the natural power of all human beings. Everyone uses it, not only poets. It helps us to understand the world around us. It is automatic and works without thinking. It is an unconscious part of the mind. It brings infinite things to finite and order to chaos. It also functions as raw materials for the secondary imagination. It is compared to a physical change, like water into ice. The following quote perfectly defines primary imagination.
“The primary Imagination I hold to be the living Power and prime Agent
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