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