Showing how central Coleridge's theories of imagination, form, and symbol were to Coleridge's metaphysics, this book takes up the issues of perception and image, and their relation to language, and makes use of both cognitive science and philosophical writings to show the continuing relevance of Coleridge's views.

Contents: Preface; Introduction. Part I Image and Form: 'That eternal language'; or why Coleridge was right about imaging and meaning; Form in Coleridge; and in perception and art. Part II Coleridge's Poetry: 'The Ancient Mariner'; The conversation poems; Coleridge, Akenside and the platonic tradition: reading in The Pleasures of Imagination. Part III Coleridgean Metaphysics: The transcendental deduction: Schelling, and Coleridge's response; The satanic principle in the later Coleridge's theory of imagination; Coleridge, Language and the imagination; Art and the medium: 'On poesy or art' and the 'essay on method'; Works cited; Index.

'This book will absorb every Coleridgean and anyone interested in the history of ideas, philosophy, and religion. Its scrupulous attention to the twists and leaps of Coleridge's thought, especially in the last two decades of his life, offers rewards at every turn. The range of Reid's study opens up Coleridge anew.' James Engell, co-editor of Biographia Literaria for the Collected Works of Coleridge, Gurney Professor of English Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University, USA '... intriguing examination of Coleridge's metaphysics and his theories of the imagination, symbol, and form. What is especially refreshing about Reid's study is how it situates the relevance of Coleridgean concepts and thought within contemporary ciritical theory... Throughout Reid writes in a clear and direct style that highlights his vast knowledge of Coleridge and contemporary critical theory. The topical rubrics in the chapters are both a practical and informative aid for the reader... The scope of this intriguing book is ambitious, and Reid convincingly argues, challenges, and raises the reader's awareness of Coleridgean metaphysics, critical theory, and the history of ideas, in a manner sure to stimulate future debate.' Romantic Textualities 'Nicholas Reid's study is a welcome addition to the scholarship on Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Reid integrates the early poet with the later theorist and metaphysician, and this is a rare accomplishment. His study achieves a distinctly Coleridgean spirit in its versatile consideration of aesthetics, phenomenology, metaphysics, literary theory, and poetry.' The Journal of Religion