As the "living power and prime Agent of all human perception," the Imagination interprets and evaluates new images and information (Coleridge, 750). As a mode of projection, the Imagination can create images and experiences, for a Romantic poet has the "disposition to be affected more than other men by absent things as if they were present, an ability of conjuring up in himself passions" (Wordsworth, Preface, 577). In addition, Romantic poets also possess a "greater promptness to think and feel without immediate external excitement," although the "causes which excite thesemoral sentiments and animal sensations" might include "the operations of the elements and the appearances of the visible universe"(Wordsworth, Preface, 579). Thus, this definition of the imagination emphasizes the role of memory and creativity.
Although this definition is an accurate interpretation of Coleridges definition, there are two functions of the Imagination, which he uniquely emphasizes. The first is that the primary Imagination is "the repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I Am" (749). This "repetition in the finite mind" suggests a continuous search for perfection, ideality, or even divinity. Indeed, the ability of the mind to create states of tranquility that lead to a close understanding of this "eternal act of creation" is found in both "Tintern Abbey" and "A Summer Evenings Meditation." The other aspect of the Imagination, which Coleridge uniquely emphasizes, is that "it is essentially vital, even as all objects (as objects) are essentially fixed and dead" (750). The emphasis on "as" is to signify that the imagination is important in itself, before it assumes any mode or function. Thus, just as objects are "fixed and dead" until someone conveys meanings on them, the Imagination is always to be valued highly, whether or not it is being applied properly.
From the definition above, it appears that the Imagination functions by recreating, reevaluating, and creating in an effort to perceive and understand the world.
