Biographia Literaria

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"Biographia Literaria" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a critical autobiography published in 1817. Part memoir, part philosophical treatise, this unconventional work explores Coleridge's intellectual journey from associationist psychology to a belief in imagination as an active, creative force. Through playful, meditative prose, he critiques William Wordsworth's poetic theories, distinguishes between imagination and fancy, and grapples with German philosophy to define how the mind shapes reality—offering the famous concept of "willing suspension of disbelief."