Chapter 14 of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria is a pivotal essay in English Romantic literary criticism, serving as a philosophical exploration of the nature of poetry, its distinction from prose, and a critical response to William Wordsworth's theories presented in the "Preface to Lyrical Ballads."
Coleridge begins by recounting the genesis of the Lyrical Ballads, a collaborative project between him and Wordsworth. He states their agreement was to compose poems embodying two "cardinal points" of poetry:
To excite sympathy by a faithful adherence to the truth of nature: This aspect was primarily Wordsworth's province, focusing on giving "the charm of novelty to things of every day" by awakening the mind from the "lethargy of custom" and directing it to the wonders of the familiar world. He was to choose subjects from "low and rustic life."
To give the interest of novelty by the modifying colours of imagination: This was Coleridge's task, involving "incidents and agents were to be, in part at least, supernatural." His aim was to create a "human interest and a semblance of truth" in these supernatural events, making them believable and affecting by transferring "from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth."
Coleridge then clarifies his position, stating his intention to declare where he agrees and disagrees with Wordsworth's "Preface." To do this, he first establishes his own fundamental definitions of "a Poem" and "Poetry" itself, in kind and in essence.
Distinction between a "Poem" and "Prose" / "Scientific Work":
Coleridge argues that a composition can be called a "poem" merely if it is "distinguished from composition in prose by metre, or by rhyme, or by both conjointly." However, this is a "superficial form" of distinction.
The true difference lies in their "immediate purpose" and the "different use of words in consequence of their different objects."
The immediate purpose of a scientific work or history is the "communication of truths" (absolute, demonstrable, or factual). While pleasure may result from understanding truth, it is not the immediate end.
The immediate purpose of a Poem is to communicate PLEASURE, "and that of the highest and most permanent kind." While truth (moral or intellectual) "ought to be the ultimate end," this distinguished the author's character, not the work's class. Coleridge famously asserts that "nothing can permanently please, which does not contain in itself the reason why it is so, and not otherwise." The pleasure derived from a poem should come from the "whole" and its "parts" forming a unified organic experience.
Definition of Poetry:
Coleridge moves beyond "a Poem" (the formal composition) to the essence of "Poetry" as a broader mental activity. He defines poetry as that which "brings the whole soul of man into activity, with the subordination of the faculties to each other, according to their relative worth and dignity."
He identifies the poet's most distinctive faculty as Imagination, which reveals itself "in the balance or reconcilement of opposite or discordant qualities." These include:
Sameness with difference
The general with the concrete
The idea with the image
The individual with the representative
The sense of novelty and freshness with old and familiar objects
A more than usual state of emotion with more than usual order
Judgment ever awake and steady self-possession with enthusiasm and feeling profound or vehement.
Ultimately, poetry is presented as a synthetic, harmonizing power that blends and fuses diverse elements into a unified, graceful, and intelligent whole, driven by Imagination. It's a journey that carries the reader forward not by mere curiosity, but by the "pleasurable activity of mind excited by the attractions of the journey itself."
25 Objective Q and A from Biographia Literaria, Chapter 14
What is the primary focus of Chapter 14 of Biographia Literaria?
(A) A detailed biography of Wordsworth
(B) A philosophical discussion on the nature of poetry
(C) A critique of 18th-century novels
(D) An analysis of dramatic tragedy
Answer: (B)
Chapter 14 recounts the genesis of which significant literary work?
(A) The Prelude
(B) Kubla Khan
(C) Lyrical Ballads
(D) Christabel
Answer: (C)What were the "two cardinal points" of poetry agreed upon by Coleridge and Wordsworth for their collaborative project?
(A) Instruction and Morality
(B) Truth of Nature and Novelty of Imagination
(C) Rhyme and Meter
(D) Classicism and Romanticism
Answer: (B)Which poet was primarily tasked with exciting sympathy by adhering to the "truth of nature" in Lyrical Ballads?
(A) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(B) William Wordsworth
(C) Robert Southey
(D) Lord Byron
Answer: (B)Wordsworth's aim, as described by Coleridge, was to give "the charm of novelty" to what kind of subjects?
(A) Mythological tales
(B) Historical epics
(C) Things of every day
(D) Supernatural occurrences
Answer: (C)Coleridge's primary task in Lyrical Ballads involved incidents and agents that were, in part at least, what?
(A) Historical
(B) Political
(C) Supernatural
(D) Autobiographical
Answer: (C)Coleridge aimed to create a "human interest and a semblance of truth" in supernatural events by transferring it from what?
(A) External reality
(B) Our inward nature
(C) Ancient folklore
(D) Scientific discovery
Answer: (B)Coleridge states his intention to declare his agreement and disagreement with which specific text?
(A) Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads
(B) Aristotle's Poetics
(C) Plato's Republic
(D) Sidney's An Apology for Poetry
Answer: (A)According to Coleridge in Chapter 14, what is the superficial distinction of a poem from prose?
(A) Its philosophical depth
(B) Its use of metre or rhyme
(C) Its moral message
(D) Its historical accuracy
Answer: (B)What does Coleridge state is the immediate purpose of a scientific work or history?
(A) To provide pleasure
(B) To excite imagination
(C) To communicate truths
(D) To evoke sympathy
Answer: (C)What is the immediate purpose of a Poem, according to Coleridge in this chapter?
(A) To instruct morally
(B) To document facts
(C) To communicate pleasure
(D) To provoke thought
Answer: (C)Coleridge famously asserts that "nothing can permanently please, which does not contain in itself..."
(A) ...a strong moral lesson.
(B) ...the reason why it is so, and not otherwise.
(C) ...elements of the sublime.
(D) ...a clear narrative arc.
Answer: (B)According to Coleridge, from where should the pleasure derived from a poem arise?
(A) Primarily from its rhyme scheme
(B) From the reader's prior knowledge
(C) Naturally from the whole and its parts forming a unified organic experience
(D) Solely from the beauty of individual lines
Answer: (C)What does Coleridge define as bringing "the whole soul of man into activity"?
(A) Prose
(B) History
(C) Poetry
(D) Science
Answer: (C)What does Coleridge identify as the poet's "most distinctive faculty" in Chapter 14?
(A) Reason
(B) Memory
(C) Judgement
(D) Imagination
Answer: (D)Imagination, according to Coleridge, reveals itself in the "balance or reconcilement of opposite or discordant" what?
(A) Political factions
(B) Natural elements
(C) Qualities
(D) Philosophical theories
Answer: (C)Which of the following pairs is NOT listed by Coleridge as being reconciled by Imagination?
(A) Sameness with difference
(B) The general with the concrete
(C) The individual with the representative
(D) The literal with the commonplace
Answer: (D)Imagination blends and harmonizes which of the following?
(A) The rational and the irrational
(B) The natural and the artificial
(C) The scientific and the historical
(D) The prosaic and the journalistic
Answer: (B)Coleridge states that the reader should be carried forward in a poem not merely by curiosity, but by what?
(A) The author's reputation
(B) The promise of a moral lesson
(C) The pleasurable activity of mind excited by the attractions of the journey itself
(D) The desire for a quick resolution
Answer: (C)What comparison does Coleridge make for the movement of the reader's mind in a poem, symbolizing intellectual power?
(A) Like the flight of a bird
(B) Like the current of a river
(C) Like the motion of a serpent
(D) Like the steady beat of a drum
Answer: (C)What did Wordsworth aim to awaken the mind's attention from in his poems?
(A) The lethargy of custom
(B) The influence of supernatural beliefs
(C) The complexities of urban life
(D) The strictures of classical rules
Answer: (A)Coleridge suggests that poetry unites a "more than usual state of emotion" with what?
(A) Less than usual reason
(B) More than usual order
(C) Complete freedom of form
(D) A disregard for conventional morality
Answer: (B)While pleasure is the immediate purpose of a poem, what does Coleridge suggest ought to be its ultimate end?
(A) Financial gain
(B) Personal fame
(C) Truth (moral or intellectual)
(D) Social reform
Answer: (C)Chapter 14 serves as a preamble to Coleridge's detailed philosophical distinctions, particularly related to what?
(A) Dramatic monologue
(B) Epic poetry
(C) Imagination and Fancy
(D) The novel as a genre
Answer: (C)In the context of poetic genius, Coleridge mentions "judgment ever awake and steady self-possession" alongside what contrasting quality?
(B) Unrestrained sentimentality
(C) Enthusiasm and feeling profound or vehement
(D) Strict adherence to classical rules
Answer: (C)
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