George Allen's critical theory is of interest on two counts. He sought to reconcile romantic art with the religious sense of Christianity, and he sought to develop a "scientific" theory of literary criticism that could be practically turned to the analysis of literary works. On both counts he was influenced by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and was as well indebted to German theorists like Johann Gottfried von Herder. The particular cast he gave his views can be ascribed to the philosopher James Marsh, under whom he studied at the University of Vermont and for whom he felt unquestioning admiration and loyalty. Viewing Christianity as essentially a spiritual impulse marked by deep feeling and inward exaltation, Allen contended that Coleridgean philosophy was a better buttress to Christianity than the basically nonspiritual philosophies of Francis Bacon and John Locke. Through Coleridge, the Christian spirit could be renewed in terms of the...