Final answer:
Coleridge's literary criticism shifted the focus of poetry from expressing direct emotions to crafting experiences that evoke emotional responses in the reader.
Step-by-step explanation:
Coleridge's literary criticism reversed the traditional emphasis of poetry by focusing on poetry's ability to evoke emotional experience rather than to merely convey ideas or emotions. Unlike the earlier views which prioritized the expression of powerful emotions as seen in Wordsworth's notion of poetry as the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings", Coleridge, and later the New Critics, emphasize the importance of the reader's experience and the necessity of crafting poetry that enables the reader to emotionally and imaginatively engage with the poem.
Poetry, therefore, is seen less as a direct outpouring of the poet's own emotions and more as a careful construction of words and images that can recreate an experience for the reader. This shift places value on the craftsmanship of poetic language and its power to evoke imagery and sensory responses, potentially transcending the immediate personal feelings of the poet.