Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan GeGeneral neral RomaRomantinti ciscism m
PantheisticPantheistic – – spirituality spirituality
found through the beauty of found through the beauty of nature, which allows oneself nature, which allows oneself to experience God.
to experience God.
2 waves of Romanticism2 waves of Romanticism – –
1800s, and 1830-50 1800s, and 1830-50
Ge
General neral ff or Poem or Poem
17971797
Came to him in a dream thatCame to him in a dream that
was opium induced. was opium induced.
Fell asleep, had aFell asleep, had a
dream/vision that was dream/vision that was 200-300
300 lines. lines. When hWhen he awoke,e awoke, he started writing, but was he started writing, but was interrupted and therefore interrupted and therefore forgot.
forgot.
Second half of poem wasSecond half of poem was
written after the interruption written after the interruption from what he could
from what he could remember.
remember.
May not have been trueMay not have been true – –
reason could be to put the reason could be to put the notion of the importance of notion of the importance of imagination out there as a imagination out there as a Romantic.
Romantic. IMAGINATION IMAGINATION
River, sunless sea, etc.River, sunless sea, etc. – –
lifeless dark place in the lifeless dark place in the subconscious of the subconscious of the imagination, which
imagination, which can’tcan’t necessarily be accessed. necessarily be accessed.
The fountain is therefore theThe fountain is therefore the
source of inspiration. source of inspiration.
Goes back to the lifeless sea.Goes back to the lifeless sea. Title
Title
Mongolian emperorMongolian emperor – – exotic exotic
ViolenceViolence – – Mongols famous Mongols famous
for violently taking over large for violently taking over large areas.
areas.
AlliterationAlliteration
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment. [Subtitle][Subtitle]
Fragment
Fragment
Imagination is so powerful,Imagination is so powerful,
that it’s so difficult to capture
that it’s so difficult to capture
and to hold/maintain.
and to hold/maintain.
imagination. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan Xanadu
Summer capitol exotic,
different, unusual.
A stately pleasure-dome decree: Kubla Khan as a place of
pleasure Stately
Contrasting tone to violence.
Connotation of reservation, grandness. Pleasure-dome decree Alliteration Compound word Dome Connotations of circle – no beginning or end. Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Sacred river
Mongols not Christian. Not
traditional religion that he’s talking about, and the
Romantic view of religion isn’t traditional.
River, ran
Alliteration
Many sound techniques in the
poem
Aplh, the sacred river
Alpheus, a river in Greece,
pursued the nymph, Arethusa, and dived underground and below the sea until it
re-emerged in a fountain.
The Alph is also a legendary
river with features similar to the river Nile in Africa. The Egyptians considered the Nile sacred, so perhaps this is why Coleridge refers to the Alph as a sacred river.
Through caverns measureless to man Measureless to man/sunless sea
Dark imagery
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground Twice five miles
Emphasizes size
Fertile ground
Positive image
With walls and towers were girdled round; Girdled round
Confining image
Held in, watched connotations
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
Incense-bearing
Overtones of religion
And here were forests ancient as the hills, Ancient as the hills
Simile
Ancientness – feelings of
deep respect and permanency with value.
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. Enfolding
Beautiful image somewhat
contained and restricted. Tonal shift.
Sense of violent nature moving. Note use of verbs.
Exclamatory
–
harshness, violence But oh! that deep romantic chasm whichslanted
But oh!
Volta – change of direction Exclamatory – in wonder,
surprise. Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted Savage place!
Surprising
Holy and enchanted
Holy – connotations of
holiness and religion
Enchantment – non traditional
religion
Therefore, mix between the
two. As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover! Not a traditional, religious
image. More Pagan.
Onomatopoeic, alliteration
Demon-lover
This is a reference to an
eastern legend where a
woman, after falling in love, discovered that her lover was a demon or a supernatural being. Thereafter, she kept on
looking for him in all sorts of enchanted places.
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
Sense of foreboding
movement
Sibilance – threatening Alliteration in first stanza –
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
Simile, personification
A mighty fountain momently was forced: Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail, Simile
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail: And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion Through wood and dale the sacred river ran, Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean; And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war! Supernatural overtone
Prophesying war
Largely discussed by critics as
to what that will mean War
This would ruin the pleasure
dome. Therefore, reality (war) ruins imagination and his sense of please – fleeting. The shadow of the dome of pleasure Shadow of the dome
Not a full experience
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure Mingled
Halfway in everything –
between the fountain and the caves.
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device, Device/ice
Rhyme
Miracle
Religious overtones
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! Sunny pleasure-dome…caves of ice
Paradox – heat and cold Bringing things together, to
get back to the real world. Another vision
A damsel with a dulcimer Dulcimer
Stringed instrument
In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora. Mount Abora
his inspiration. Appears to be exotic etc.
Could I revive within me Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me, That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice! And all who heard should see them there, And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Critics – talking about himself
His
Repetition
Weave a circle round him thrice, Thrice
Biblical connotation – holy
trinity.
Supernatural overtones –
power attached to it.
Three – wrapping around and
solidifying the pantheistic beliefs.
And close your eyes with holy dread Holy dread
In awe and dread when God is
confronted. Combination of paradoxical feelings.
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise. Paradise
After death usually. Therefore if that’s
experienced before death, it’s the ultimate knowledge which results in people being scared of that knowledge being held. Milk of paradise
Coleridge, having ‘drunk the
milk of paradise’ desired and sought after the beautiful image of Xanadu and Utopia, and his final stanza is his way of describing to the reader how badly he wants to go back there.
