Milton had a highly imaginative, Cowley a very fanciful mind.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Coleridge distinguishes between Milton's strong imagination and Cowley's more whimsical mind.
- In plain terms
- Milton was deeply imaginative while Cowley was more fanciful.
- What can you take from it?
- Different writers possess distinct types of creative minds.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you define imagination vs fancy?
- What makes a mind highly imaginative?
Another view
Such distinctions can oversimplify complex literary careers.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Indignation at literary wrongs I leave to men born under happier stars. I cannot afford it.
Permalink to quote #101 An idea, in the highest sense of that word, cannot be conveyed but by a symbol.
Permalink to quote #103 Experience informs us that the first defence of weak minds is to recriminate.
Permalink to quote #100
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