In this illuminating intellectual and spiritual biography, the distinguished critic Basil Willey traces the development of Coleridge’s religious and political views and shows how these views are revealed in his writings. The central thread of the book is Coleridge’s life-long search—in Professor Willey’s words, “for a mind not passive but active; a will not frozen in necessity, but free and responsible; an Imagination not decorative but creative in the highest sense; and a God not identified or confused with Nature, but at once transcendent and redemptive.” Basil Willey’s rich understanding of Coleridge, and his lucid analysis of the complex philosophical issues in his work, will make this book invaluable to readers interested in English intellectual history.
