That willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Readers must temporarily accept fictional elements to engage with a poem.
- In plain terms
- You need to believe the story for a bit to enjoy it.
- What can you take from it?
- Accept fiction to enjoy art.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When do you stop believing a story?
- Why do we need suspension of disbelief?
Another view
Some truths cannot be accepted if they feel too unrealistic.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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…
Permalink to quote #111 The poet, described in ideal perfection, brings the whole soul of man into activity, with the subordination of its faculties to each other according to their r…
Permalink to quote #113 The fancy is indeed no other than a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space.
Permalink to quote #110
Related quotes
Nobody has any conscience about adding to the improbabilities of a marvelous tale.
Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne quote #20 For the purposes of poetry a convincing impossibility is preferable to an unconvincing possibility. (1461b11)
AristotleAristotle quote #72 Acknowledgement, and celebration, of mystery probably constitutes the most consistent theme of my poetry from its very beginnings. Because it is a matter of wh…
Denise LevertovDenise Levertov quote #3