The Design of Biographia Literaria

First published in 1983, this book examines a work whose intricacies have baffled and infuriated generations of readers and proposes a theory of ColeridgeΓÇÖs writing habits that "explain(s) his explanation". The author painstakingly analyses the BiographiaΓÇÖs organising structure distinguishing between the daring conception and often inept execution of ColeridgeΓÇÖs idea of critical discourse. It is argued that ColeridgeΓÇÖs autobiographical format present a richly metaphorical "self" whose literary life has led to the now-famous doctrine of secondary imagination. The authorΓÇÖs command of Coleridge scholarship will shed new light on the Biographia for specialists and non-specialists alike.