In his work Biographia Literaria, Coleridge distinguishes between primary imagination and secondary imagination. According to him, the primary imagination is a natural, spontaneous, and vital creative force inherent in every human being, while the secondary imagination is more deliberate, controlled, and conscious, used by artists and poets to recreate or transform reality.
In the full quote: the secondary imagination “dissolves, diffuses, dissipates, in order to recreate,” the word "dissipates" fits Coleridge's notion of the imagination breaking down (or scattering) material from the real world in order to reform or recreate it artistically.
Let’s compare the choices:
Disintegrates: Implies complete destruction or breakdown, which doesn't capture the subtle scattering or transformation implied by Coleridge.
Dissipates: Means to scatter or disperse, which fits with Coleridge's idea of the secondary imagination spreading or transforming existing material to create something new.
Displaces: Means to move from one place to another, which doesn’t fit the context of spreading or diffusing creativity.
Dissociates: Means to separate or disconnect, which doesn’t match the fluid, transformative quality Coleridge emphasizes in his description of the imagination.
Thus, "dissipates" (option 2) is the best fit to describe the way secondary imagination works according to Coleridge's philosophy.
Year-wise PYQs
