Biographia Literaria: Vol 1 & 2

Biographia Literaria, or, Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is the book that Coleridge wanted to write for a long time, examining the relationships between literature and philosophy. The book began as a conversation between Coleridge and his neighbor, William Wordsworth, although the book did not appear for another seventeen years. Coleridge provided the ideas for the Preface to the second edition of Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads and this then was developed into Biographia Literaria, which he dreamed about writing for a long time. A great deal of Coleridge’s works were the analysis and criticism of other writers. There are many passages from various authors in Biographia Lieteraria and much of the book examines the works of Wordsworth and Shakespeare, both contemporaries of Coleridge, as Coleridge examines the link between literature and philosophy. Coleridge also addresses the issue of literary critics, some of whom he had problems with regarding his own works. He feels that the critics must find something wrong with a literary work in order to sell reviews. Therefore, many reviews are unfair and the result of personal animosity. Coleridge accomplishes his goal of examining the relationship between philosophy and literature in this book.