Between Perfection and Freedom: Kant and the Aesthetic Truth of Poetry

In this paper I argue that, for Kant, the freedom of the poetic imagination and its expression of an aesthetic truth is only possible by clearly distinguishing the activity of the imagination in poetry from (1) excessive emotion and (2) distinctness (in cognition). My approach to the question of the freedom of the poetic imagination will revolve around how the above demarcations regulate the seemingly unrestrained play of poetry (while at the same time not imposing external boundaries on it) in order to guide it towards aesthetic truth and originality. A central part of my paper is therefore concerned with showing how Kant’s analysis of aesthetic and logical ‘perfection’ from before the third Critique is essential for understanding the freedom of the poetic imagination.