Coleridge begins his thoughts on imitation and poetry from Plato, Aristotle and Philip Sidney; however, he departs significantly from those thinkers by arguing that art does not reveal a unity of essence through its ability to achieve sameness with nature.
Coleridge begins his thoughts on imitation and poetry from Plato, Aristotle and Philip Sidney, adopting their concept of imitation of nature instead of other writers. His significant departure from the earlier thinkers lies in him arguing that art does not reveal a unity of essence through its ability to achieve sameness with nature.