Our conversations turned frequently on the two cardinal points of poetry, the power of exciting the sympathy of the reader by a faithful adherence to the truth of nature, and the power of giving the interest of novelty by the modifying colours of imagination.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Poetry succeeds by staying true to nature while using imagination to make it feel new and engaging.
- In plain terms
- Good poems balance real truth with creative touches.
- What can you take from it?
- Blend factual accuracy with creative flair.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you balance truth and creativity?
- What makes a story feel fresh?
Another view
Strict adherence to nature might limit creative expression.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The fancy is indeed no other than a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space.
Permalink to quote #110 That willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.
Permalink to quote #112 The secondary Imagination I consider as an echo of the former, co-existing with the conscious will, yet still as identical with the primary in the kind of its …
Permalink to quote #109
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