Loss of Imagination in Dejection: An Ode

Paper Summary:

This paper takes up the idea of loss of imagination, a popular idea of romantic poetry, that is the central theme of the poem, "Dejection: An Ode." The author compares this poem to the biblical story,
"The Fall" in order to show that there is a "point of no return" that is associated with the biblical example and that this must also be assumed in Coleridge's comparison to a loss of imagination.

From the Paper:

"Consider for a moment the absence of all imagination. Of course, such an act is impossible. The very fascination of such an idea prompts the human mind to initiate its most creative powers. Nonetheless, Coleridge presents a hope-tinged lament to the notion of a loss of imagination in
"Dejection: An Ode." The demise of "genial spirits" in response to Wordsworth is depicted as permanent, and readers are offered no hopes of the visionary consolation through memory found in "Intimations Ode Instead, the speaker's "grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear" is irreversible and comes from deep within. The only expectation from which he may draw solace is that his "Lady" who is "pure of heart" may "evermore rejoice".

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