Kubla Khan General Romanticism

Pantheistic spirituality
found through the beauty of
nature, which allows oneself
to experience God.
2 waves of Romanticism
1800s, and 1830-50
General for Poem
1797
Came to him in a dream that
was opium induced.
Fell asleep, had a
dream/vision that was 200-
300 lines. When he awoke,
he started writing, but was
interrupted and therefore
forgot.
Second half of poem was
written after the interruption
from what he could
remember.
May not have been true
reason could be to put the
notion of the importance of
imagination out there as a
Romantic.
IMAGINATION
River, sunless sea, etc.
lifeless dark place in the
subconscious of the
imagination, which cant
necessarily be accessed.
The fountain is therefore the
source of inspiration.
Goes back to the lifeless sea.
Title
Mongolian emperor exotic
Violence Mongols famous
for violently taking over large
areas.
Alliteration
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment. [Subtitle]
Fragment
Imagination is so powerful,
that its so difficult to capture
and to hold/maintain.
The transient nature of
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 hes
talking about, and the
Romantic view of religion
isnt 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
Towers
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 which
slanted
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 eer 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
long and soft.
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 threshers 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-domecaves 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
Symbol of a muse? To unlock
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 thats
experienced before death, its
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.