Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1856.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1856.

"The primary Imagination I hold to be the living Power and prime Agent of all human Perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM." -Samuel Taylor ColeridgeIn his Biographia Literaria, Coleridge explains his theory of poetry as a creation of the "self-sufficing power of absolute Genius," which he claimed was as different from talent as "an egg from] an egg-shell." Fusing autobiography, literary criticism, and religious and philosophical theory, Biographia Literaria is a supreme work of literary criticism and one of the classics of English literature. Coleridge insisted on sound sense and clear reference in phrase, metaphor, and image. He discouraged literary "embroidery," along with conventional similes and stale poetic diction, aiming to write in natural language that spoke to the heart as well as the intellect. Critical of the rhetorical excesses in poetry of the time, he joined Wordsworth in promoting "natural thoughts with natural diction." Biographia Literaria was the most important work of literary criticism of the English Romantic period, combining philosophy and literary criticism in a new way. It remains an incomparable source of informed reflection on the brave new literary world whose birth pangs Coleridge attended. This edition, newly designed and typeset, includes the complete text (originally published in two volumes) along with all of Coleridge's voluminous explanatory footnotes. It is printed on acid-free, archival-quality paper with a hardback case-laminate binding for long life and durability.

One of the highly praised Lakeland poets, alongside his friend William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a founder of the Romantic movement in England. His work - still popular today - includes such classics as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan as well as the beautiful early poem Frost at Midnight: 'Or if the secret ministry of frost, Shall hang them up in silent icicles, Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.'Despite the great beauty of his work, he suffered from bouts of depression and today it is speculated he may well have had bipolar disorder. For both mental and physical ailments he was treated with laudanum which led to a lifelong addition to opium. Coleridge's influence was widespread - he was a major influence on Ralph Waldo Emerson - indeed, he invented the phrase suspension of disbelief. This collection is a fascinating insight into his life, as well as his work.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.