Introduction: Coleridge was a supreme poet in his
own right. He also well-known for ushering in the Romantic age of poetry in
England. Along with his friend William
Wordsworth, Coleridge wrote and published Lyrical
Ballads, a work that not only contained many of the two poets'
poetic works, but also included essays on the nature and craft of poetry. When
creating or reading poetry, Coleridge called for "That willing suspension of
disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." By this he
meant that the reader will accept the poem on its own terms, temporarily giving
over to the author's vision of the world long enough to appreciate the work.
Description: The
phrase "suspension of disbelief" came to be used more loosely in the
later 20th century, often used to imply that the burden was on the reader,
rather than the writer, to achieve it. This might be used to refer to the
willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that
these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. These premises
may also lend to the engagement of the mind and perhaps proposition of
thoughts, ideas, art and theories.
Suspension of disbelief is often an
essential element for a magic act or a circus sideshow act. For example, an
audience is not expected to actually believe that a woman is cut in
half or transforms into a gorilla in
order to enjoy the performance.
According to the theory, suspension
of disbelief is an essential ingredient for any kind of storytelling. With any
film, the viewer has to ignore the reality that they are viewing a staged
performance and temporarily accept it as their reality in order to be
entertained. Black-and-white films provide an obvious early example that
audiences are willing to suspend disbelief, no matter how implausible the
images appear, for the sake of entertainment. With the exception of totally
color blind people (achromats), no
person viewing these films sees the real world without color, but some are
still willing to suspend disbelief and accept the images in order to be
entertained. Suspension of disbelief is also supposed to be essential for the
enjoyment of many films and television shows involving complex stunts, special
effects, and seemingly unrealistic plots and characterizations.
A fine example of this is Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient
Mariner", in which the reader (along with the targeted Wedding Guest of
the poem) must accept the Ancient Mariner's tale at face value and assume the
old man is telling the truth about his experiences. Coleridge builds this
"willing suspension of disbelief" by beginning the Mariner's tale in
familiar territory--a ship exploring the frozen wastes of the ocean--and slowly
but inexorably drawing the reader into the Mariner's more supernatural
encounters.
Conclusion: The
term suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of
disbelief has been defined as a willingness to suspend one's critical
faculties and believe something surreal; sacrifice of realism and logic for the
sake of enjoyment. The term was coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic
philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a
semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend
judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative. Suspension of
disbelief often applies to fictional works of the action, comedy, fantasy, and
horror genres. Cognitive estrangement in fiction involves
using a person's ignorance to promote suspension of disbelief.
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