Coleridge's Philosophy of the Imagination Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay February 1, 2005 In Kubla Khan, Samuel Coleridge depicts the great Mongol ruler Kubla Khan as creating a palace representative of his great power and ability to induce fear. But towards the end of the poem Coleridge reveals that Kubla is a metaphor for an inspired poet. So Kubla's palace is like a poet's creation and represents the way his imagination constructs poetry. Throughout the poem, Coleridge uses imagery and symbols to enlighten the reader about his philosophy on how the imagination works. Most of the poem describes the wild forces of nature, which implies that the poet is uncontrollable and his imagination rages into creation with chaotic movements. But Coleridge also subtly suggests that there is an element of conscious control in the imagination, which he represents with images of prophecy and inspiration. Because images of chaotic creation dominate the poem, Coleridge suggests that the process of imagination is largely a mystery. Coleridge provides a direct explanation of his theories of imagination in his book Biographia Literaria, and the philosophy he describes parallels the images of imagination in Kubla. Khan. First of all, he distinguishes two different types of imagination: he describes the "primary imagination" as a faculty that allows man to form concepts, create connections and organize the information received from the world; and "secondary imagination" includes man's ability to create new images. The secondary is a similar concept to creativity and is the core of Kubla Khan. He says that the secondary “dissolves, diffuses, dissipates, to recreate” (477). Coleridge also writes that the poet creates "with that synthetic and magical power... of the imagination" (482). Thus, his philosophy notes both a conscious and wild aspect of the imagination: the terms "dissolves, diffuses, dissipates" and "synthetic" show that conscious effort is required; and by deeming creation "magical" Coleridge suggests that imagination also has a wild aspect. The wild scenes, which constitute the majority of the images in Kubla Khan, represent the rebellious and magical side of what Coleridge calls the secondary imagination. The palace depicted in the poem is a place where violent and turbulent forces of nature are found everywhere. Coleridge describes, “A wild place!…holy and enchanted” (14). Since this is a metaphor for a poet's creativity, "wild" deems the secondary imagination to be unbridled, while "enchanted" gives it a tinge of wonder: this echoes the term "magical" used in Biographia. The poem continues: "And from this abyss, with ceaseless seething tumult... A mighty fountain momentarily flowed" (17.19). This passage also supports the idea that creativity is wild. The expression "incessant turmoil" suggests that creativity spins forward in a chaotic manner. And the fountain that flows from the earth is the symbol of the spontaneous creation of an idea. Other images of chaotic action dominate the poem in phrases such as “labyrinthine movement” (25), leading to the conclusion that the secondary imagination is primarily uncontrolled. A large section at the end of the poem describes the poet as being able to conceive of such a palace as dangerously volatile, continuing the theme of wild creation begun with scenes of nature. Coleridge writes that when people see the poet, "Everyone should cry, beware! Beware!" (49). These warnings imply that the poet is in a state of unbridled thought: his imagination has.