Beyond the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Poetic Faith from Coleridge to Tolkien

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Samuel Taylor Coleridge's conception of "the willing suspension of disbelief" marks a pivotal moment in the history of literary theory. Returning to Coleridge's thought and Shakespeare criticism to reconstruct this idea as a form of "poetic faith", Michael Tomko here lays the foundations of a new theologically oriented mode of literary criticism. Bringing Coleridge into dialogue with thinkers ranging from Augustine to Josef Pieper, contemporary critics such as Stephen Greenblatt and Terry Eagleton as well as writers like J.R.R. Tolkien and Wendell Berry, Beyond the Willing Suspension of Disbelief offers a method of reading for post-secular literary criticism that is not only historically and politically aware but also deeply engaged with aesthetic form.

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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 Coleridges 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., Shelleys Ozymandias, Shakespeares Hamlet and Tempest, Tolkiens 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. * The Coleridge Bulletin *
Elegantly written, theologically informed, this is top-level critical theory. * Catholic Herald *
Michael Tomkos focussed, lucid, and eloquent study reconsiders Coleridges seminal formulation in Biographia Literaria: that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith. Tomko makes an excellent case for the centrality of religious faith to Coleridges thinking and writing. * European Romantic Review *
Tomko offers us an extended meditation on Coleridges idea of the willing suspension of disbelief in its subsequent use, abuse and history as a critical term ... He writes with great insight ... [A] slim, stimulating and erudite book. * Theology *

Author Bio

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).