A Dialectical Study Of Coleridge’s Shakespearean Criticism

This dissertation adopts the method of qualitative analysis, finding the potential relations within Coleridge’s unique principles of Shakespearean criticism and poetic thoughts from the angle of dialectic view. Firstly the background and significance of the topic and the literature review in this field is introduced in first part. In the main part of the text, the dissertation explains a couple of inner relations, parts and whole, form and meaning by applying a metaphor of plant and thus gives a Coleridge’s definition of poem. The dissertation also takes examples of Shakespeare’s works to prove the dialectical relations. Then the difference between imitation and copy is analyzed in the process of creation so that Shakespeare has been claimed to be a real natural poet by Coleridge. The dissertation also discusses the dialectic relations between communal theory and individualistic theory. Moreover, Coleridge’s theory of imagination is also the most systematic description in era. In this part, we have a review on the development of imagination theory in the Western literary history and find the necessity of appearance of Coleridge’s imagination theory. Then by the distinction of his illustration of primary imagination and secondary imagination, we find the specific characteristic of Coleridge’s imagination theory which leads to a perfect internal harmony.In Coleridge’s Shakespearean criticism, we can find a new dialectical poetic view which is the most important feature and has an important value of poetics. This is Coleridge’s key to success for his Shakespearean criticism, and is also the value of this dissertation. In this dissertation, the works of Shakespeare such as poems or plays are illustrated to prove that the dialectical view is also the soul of Coleridge’s criticism. Thus we can make a more comprehensive and profound understanding of this literary phenomenon, and then highlighted the landmark status and pioneering contributions of Coleridge’s Shakespearean criticism in the history of literature.