Can you explain chapter 4 of Biographia Literaria?

In chapter 4 of the Biographia Literaria, Coleridge writes about the Lyrical Ballads, the book of poetry he published together with Wordsworth, which is often regarded as having launched the Romantic Movement in English literature. He says that almost all the criticism which the book attracted could have been avoided by the omission of about a hundred lines. Even these lines only offended readers because Wordsworth had directed attention towards them in the preface to explain his theories of poetry, meaning that it was the Romantic theory to which readers really objected. When Coleridge discussed the specific poems in the volume with readers, he usually heard people both praise and denigrate all the ones which used the humblest, most straightforward language, in line with Wordsworth's theory.

Coleridge then uses Wordsworth's poetry to begin to illustrate his famous distinction between "Fancy" and "Imagination," which he develops later in the book. Here in chapter 4, he says that Wordsworth displays both qualities, though his explanation of them differs from Coleridge's own. He does not attempt a full explanation of his distinction, which is essentially that fancy merely associates ideas, while imagination creates coherent new ideas out of them. However, he does hint at this difference by his description of Cowley as a fanciful poet and Milton, a far more important literary figure who influenced Wordsworth significantly, as an imaginative one.

What is the summary of chapter 13 in Biographia Literaria?

Chapter 13 of the Biographia Literaria begins with a discussion of transcendental philosophy in which Coleridge says that the aim of the transcendentalist is to see the self within infinity. He regards transcendentalism as the result of two infinite forces that counteract each other "by their essential nature." However, this description is fraught with mysticism and does not contain a justification of why these forces should produce anything at all, let alone anything transcendent.

The main point of the chapter, however, is to simplify Coleridge's definition of imagination and to distinguish it from fancy. Coleridge reproduces a long letter from a friend, criticizing him for the length and complexity of his arguments on the subject of imagination. He then divides imagination into two categories. The primary imagination is "the living power and prime agent of all human perception." The secondary imagination is an echo of this, operating in the same way, but to a lesser degree. Finally, fancy is entirely different from imagination, and consists of "a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space."

Coleridge's explanations are often difficult to follow, and this is particularly true in the Biographia Literaria, where he often scatters his remarks on a subject over several chapters. The distinction between fancy and imagination appears in several places, including chapter 4 and chapter 12. However, the final brief paragraphs of chapter 13 come closer than anything else to being Coleridge's definitive pronouncement on the issue.

Summarize chapter 14 of Coleridge's Biographia Literaria.

Chapter 14 of the Biographia Literaria begins with Coleridge describing the origins of the Lyrical Ballads. He says that he and Wordsworth agreed to compose a volume of poems in which Wordsworth would write of everyday events from a natural perspective while Coleridge would focus on the supernatural. Coleridge intended to write several poems but, by the time he had finished “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Wordsworth had enough for the rest of the volume.

Wordsworth’s poetic creed, Coleridge writes, is set out in the preface to the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads. Since this has been taken as the manifesto of both poets, Coleridge wants to explain here where he agrees with and where he differs from Wordsworth. This involves an explanation of what he means by the terms “poem” and “poetry.”

Coleridge does not regard rhyme and meter as particularly important elements of poetry, saying that he views the works of Plato and Jeremy Taylor as poetry. He adds “that a poem of any length neither can be, nor ought to be, all poetry,” though the parts that are not must be in keeping with the poetry.

The poet “brings the whole soul of man into activity.” His most distinctive feature is the power of imagination. Coleridge says of imagination, as Sir John Davies says of the soul (in a poem Coleridge quotes), that it has an extraordinary transformative power, like the power of fire to change what it burns into itself. He ends by saying that:

Good Sense is the Body of poetic genius, Fancy its Drapery, Motion its Life, and Imagination the Soul that is everywhere, and in each; and forms all into one graceful and intelligent whole.

How would you summarize the main ideas of chapter 17 in Coleridge's Biographia Literaria?

Poetic studies often link Samuel Taylor Coleridge with poet William Wordsworth. In Biographia Literaria, Coleridge uses chapter 17 to highlight the differences between his poetry—the way poetry ought to be, in his vision—and that of Wordsworth.

Wordsworth is highly touted as a Romantic poet, yet Coleridge favors his own individual style as the proper way to present poetry to the public. Whereas Wordsworth’s work is simple and appeals to the common man, Coleridge prefers to complicate his poetry. Both poets rely on their imagination, but Coleridge relies more heavily upon it than does Wordsworth.

Chapter 17 begins with Coleridge’s criticism of Wordsworth poetry as being beneath appropriate standards, especially with respect to his diction. He frowns upon Wordsworth’s “rustic” approach. Coleridge believes in a hierarchy of language associated with poetry:

Examination of the tenets peculiar to Mr. Wordsworth—Rustic life (above all, low and rustic life) especially unfavorable to the formation of a human diction—The best parts of language the product of philosophers, not of clowns or shepherds—Poetry essentially ideal and generic—The language of Milton as much the language of real life, yea, incomparably more so than that of the cottager.

However, Coleridge opts to include praise for Wordsworth’s attempts to adhere to poetic principles by stating, “he undertook a useful task, and deserves all praise....” Nevertheless, he does not believe that rustic language is sufficient. To Coleridge, language taken from what Wordsworth believes is “real life” is not real at all. It only reflects the understanding of certain people living the “rustic life.” In a rejection of Wordsworth’s language, he believes poetry must be infused with a greater degree of imagination to fit real life as interpreted by a more sophisticated audience. Speaking of Wordsworth, Coleridge writes,

The poet informs his reader, that he had generally chosen low and rustic life; but not as low and rustic, or in order to repeat that pleasure of doubtful moral effect, which persons of elevated rank and of superior refinement oftentimes derive from a happy imitation of the rude unpolished manners and discourse of their inferiors.

Coleridge finds Wordsworth’s work to be artificial and in need of a higher level of imagination. In his view, rustic life is a hard life that skews the vision of those who experience it. He argues that it takes education and a greater degree of sophistication to accurately present reality to readers of poetry:

It is not every man that is likely to be improved by a country life or by country labors. Education, or original sensibility, or both, must pre-exist, if the changes, forms, and incidents of nature are to prove a sufficient stimulant. And where these are not sufficient, the mind contracts and hardens by want of stimulants: and the man becomes selfish, sensual, gross, and hard-hearted.

While Biographia Literaria concerns itself with a variety of topics worth exploring, chapter 17 focuses primarily on the weaknesses of Wordsworth’s poetry, especially with respect to the language chosen. While Wordsworth campaigned against exaggerated poetic diction, Coleridge objects to the use of the informality of colloquialism as the standard for poetry. He believes proper poetic language should reflect the higher thoughts of the more educated or upper social classes of society.