Michael Tomko is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University, USA and book review editor for Religion & Literature. He is the author of British Romanticism and the Catholic Question: Religion, History and National Identity, 1778-1829 (2011) and co-editor of Firmly I Believe and Truly: The Spiritual Tradition of Catholic England, 1483-1999 (2011).

Tomko … has chosen a very strong topic: the tension between aesthetic cum ethical appeal and ideological imperiousness. His tendency to use a dialectic of opposing positions, examine the shortcomings of either extreme, and explore intermediate positions makes a good match for Coleridge’s own heuristic inclinations. The scope of the book is broad, encompassing numerous theoretical/critical texts (Eagleton, McGann, Tolkien, to name only a few) and primary texts (e.g., Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tempest, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). There is no doubting the drive to discover in this author. Given these strengths, the book sets the bar very high on a topic of pressing interest for many readers.

• Introduction: dreams for realities1 The willing suspension of disbelief2 Poetic faith3 The willing resumption of disbeliefConclusion: Potent artBibliographyIndex

Michael Tomko is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University, USA and book review editor for Religion & Literature. He is the author of British Romanticism and the Catholic Question: Religion, History and National Identity, 1778-1829 (2011) and co-editor of Firmly I Believe and Truly: The Spiritual Tradition of Catholic England, 1483-1999 (2011).

Tomko … has chosen a very strong topic: the tension between aesthetic cum ethical appeal and ideological imperiousness. His tendency to use a dialectic of opposing positions, examine the shortcomings of either extreme, and explore intermediate positions makes a good match for Coleridge’s own heuristic inclinations. The scope of the book is broad, encompassing numerous theoretical/critical texts (Eagleton, McGann, Tolkien, to name only a few) and primary texts (e.g., Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tempest, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). There is no doubting the drive to discover in this author. Given these strengths, the book sets the bar very high on a topic of pressing interest for many readers.

• Introduction: dreams for realities1 The willing suspension of disbelief2 Poetic faith3 The willing resumption of disbeliefConclusion: Potent artBibliographyIndex

Michael Tomko is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University, USA and book review editor for Religion & Literature. He is the author of British Romanticism and the Catholic Question: Religion, History and National Identity, 1778-1829 (2011) and co-editor of Firmly I Believe and Truly: The Spiritual Tradition of Catholic England, 1483-1999 (2011).

Tomko … has chosen a very strong topic: the tension between aesthetic cum ethical appeal and ideological imperiousness. His tendency to use a dialectic of opposing positions, examine the shortcomings of either extreme, and explore intermediate positions makes a good match for Coleridge’s own heuristic inclinations. The scope of the book is broad, encompassing numerous theoretical/critical texts (Eagleton, McGann, Tolkien, to name only a few) and primary texts (e.g., Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tempest, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). There is no doubting the drive to discover in this author. Given these strengths, the book sets the bar very high on a topic of pressing interest for many readers.

• Introduction: dreams for realities1 The willing suspension of disbelief2 Poetic faith3 The willing resumption of disbeliefConclusion: Potent artBibliographyIndex