Poet Poems and the art of Poetry in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria

1、Poet， Poems and the art of Poetry in Samuel Taylor Coleridges Biographia Literaria劉可+李旸【Abstract】SamuelTaylorColeridgescontributiontothecannonofliteratureliesnotonlyinhisimagination-galorepoemslikeTheRimeoftheAncientMarinerandKublaKhan，butmoreinhispivotalproseworkaboutliterarytheoriesandprinciplesof

2、criticism-theBiographiaLiteraria.Inthiscanonicalwork，heexpoundsaprofoundandunprecedentedtheoryaboutthedefinitionofpoetry，theparamountfacultyforanypoet-imagination，andtheunityofthepartandthewhole.【Keywords】BiographiaLiteraria；SamuelTaylorColeridge；UnitySamuelTaylorColeridge，therepresentativeandkeyfig

3、ureofthe19thcenturyRomanticMovementinGreatBritain，hascontributedalottoelevateandenshrinepoetryasahigherformofliterature.Histheoryaboutthedefinitionofpoetryisprofoundandmoreorlessbecomethelegitimatedefinitionwhoseinfluencecanbeseeninmanylatercritics，likeI.A.RichardsandT.S.Eliot.Anymanoflettersiscurse

4、dbyPlatoandhastostandoutandjustifythemselves.S.T.Coleridgejustifieshimselfbyclaimingthat“theheartshouldhavefeduponthetruth，asinsectsonaleaf，tillitbetingedwiththecolor，andshowitsfoodineveryminutestfiber.Ratherthanadmittingthatpoetryare“thriceremovedfromtruth，Coleridgearguesthatpoetrydealswithamuchwid

5、erspectrumthannature.For“images，howeverbeautiful，thoughfaithfullycopiedfromnature，andasaccuratelyrepresentedinwords，donotofthemselvescharacterizethepoet.Theybecomeproofsoforiginalgeniusonlyasfarastheyaremodifiedbyapredominantpassion；orbyassociatedthoughtsorimagesawakenedbythatpassion，theunderlyingme

6、aninghereisthemagicpowerofthepoettoweavesuchadelicatenetofingenuity，inwhichthenatureisrepresented，thetruthexposedbyasymbolchosenandtheunitybetweenformandcontentperfectedbythesophisticationofcraftsmanshipofthepoet.ThereisnogainsayingthatColeridgeisamangiventoformandexternalbeauty.HeisinfluencedbyAris

7、totleandalignshimselfwithHoracetoadvocateforthe“sweetandusefulpartofpoetry.Aristotleclaimedthat“probableimpossibilitiesaretobepreferredtoimprobablepossibilitiesand“aconvincingimpossibilityispreferabletoanunconvincingpossibility.ForColeridge，itallbecomesoneandonlydictumimagination.Apartfrombeingpleas

8、urableforitscombinationofmeterandrhyme，anexcellentpoemknowshowtocreateamilieuinwhichthereadersattentionwillberivetedsolelyonitbecauseitissomethingthatreadersneverknowof.Hespeaksofthe“twocardinalpointofpoetry，thepowerofexcitingthesympathyofthereaderbyafaithfuladherencetothetruthofnature，andthepowerof

9、givingtheinterestofnoveltybythemodifyingcolorsofimagination.ThisnotionhasbeenadoptedandrevisedbylaterpoetssuchasBertlotBrechtandViktorShklovsky.The“estrangementeffectcoinedbyBrechtrevolvesaround“strippingtheeventofitsself-evident，familiar，obviousqualityandcreatingasenseofastonishmentandcuriosityabou

10、tthem.Inhis“ArtasTechnique，Shklovskyclaimedtheneedtomake“over-familiarthingsunfamiliar.Hedefinesartas“awayofexperiencingtheartfulnessofanobject；theobjectisnotimportant.PerhapswhatColeridgewantstoconveyisthis，thattheworldwearelivinginisfarfromsatisfactory；sometimesitisdarkandgloomy，poems，however，acta

11、sasoothingpanaceatocure，torevitalize，tomakeupforwhatislostinreality.Apartfromtheentertainingandimaginaryaspectsofpoetry，SamuelTaylorColeridgeisalsometiculousabouttheunitybetweenthepartandthewhole.Thecomponentpartsofapoemmust“mutuallysupportandexplaineachother，allintheirproportionharmonizingwith，ands

12、upportingthepurposeandknowninfluencesofmetricalarrangement.AndColeridgefurthercitestwoexampleswhichbreakstherulesandrenderthepoemeitheroutstandinginoneortwolinesandabsorbs“thewholeattentionor“anunsustainedcomposition，fromwhichonlythemotifisachievedattheexpenseofthecomponentparts.Bothinadequaciesarec

13、ausedbyalackofunitybetweenthepartandthewhole.Theinnerharmonyandreconcilementcanonlybemadethroughpainstakingandconstanteffortstoholdthereadersattentionandwillingofsuspensionofdisbelief.Thereaderwillnothastilyrushtotheconclusionbutindulgethemselvesonthejourney，whertheyarewillingto“pausesandhalfrecedes

14、，andfromtheretrogressivemovementcollectstheforcewhichagaincarrieshimonward.ThusistheperspectiveofColeridgeontheartofpoetryandtheconclusionseemsnotsoconclusivewithregardtotheindeterminacyandotherworldlinessoftranscendentalunity.Coleridgecontinuestodefinethepoetashewho“bringsthewholesoulofmanintoactiv

15、ity，withthesubordinationofitsfacultiestoeachotheraccordingtotheirrelativeworthanddignity.Todosothepoetwouldhavetomusterthealmightyimagination，which“revealsitselfinthebalanceorreconcilementofoppositeordiscordantqualities：ofsamenesswithdifference；ofgeneralwiththeconcrete；thesenseofnoveltyandfreshnessw

16、itholdandfamiliarobjects；amorethanusualstateofemotionwithmorethanusualorder；judgmenteverawakeandsteadyself-possessionwithenthusiasmandfeelingprofoundorvehement；andouradmirationofthepoettooursympathywiththepoetry.Thesignificanceofreconciliationbetweensuchbinaryoppositeshasfascinatedgenerationofwriter

17、sandcritics.Bybringingtheseoppositeanddiscordantqualitiesunderyoke，thepoetcouldcreateaworldofperfectbalanceandharmonythatneverexistinrealityandperhapsneverwillwhatsoever.Thisambitioustaskofthepoetscanbetestifiedintheliteraryworksofmanyotherpoets.JohnKeatshasrealizedthisnever-endingdiscordanceamonghu

18、manityandhebecomesanadamantadvocateofthe“negativecapability，whichrevealstheimpossibilityofeverreachingcertitudeorharmony.Keatsbelievesthatpoetsshouldbeabletostayin，becomfortablewithuncertainties，ambiguities.Ambiguity，definedbymodernliterarycritics，isasourceofpoeticrichnessratherthanafaultofimprecision.Alsonoteworthyisthefactthatalthoughthisreconciliationseemsnexttoimpossible，Coleridgeneverthelessurgesyoungpoetstodosoandhishomelydefinitionsofproseandpoetryprovethatthisliterarypractitionerregardstheartofpoetryastheessentialelementofhumanityandthetaskofpoetnolessthan“theunacknowledg