Kubla Khan:
Kubla Khan was written in 1797. It was influenced by visions Coleridge had from taking opium. The poem starts out with an emperor Kubla Khan in his palace in Xanada. The narrator then talks about the beauty of the land and the Alph river that flows through the land. He talks about Kubla Khan’s thoughts of war while listening to the river flow violently through the canyon. Shortly after he switches gears and talks about another vision he had about a lady who was singing and playing an instrument. He talks about how her singing made him have feelings to sing in his vision as well. The narrator’s song helps him create the land of Xanada in his vision. Towards the end of the vision the narrator sees a man with “flashing eyes” which is supposed to be Kubla Khan himself.
Themes: 1)Nature's Beauty 2)Nature's Violence 3)Consciousness of the Human Mind
4) Imagination
Poetic Structure: Kubla Khan has four stanzas and is written in iambic tetrameter. It has an alternating rhyme scheme in each stanza. Stanza one has a rhyme scheme of ABAABCCDEDE, stanza two has a rhyme scheme of ABAABCCDDFFGGHIIHJJ, stanza three has a rhyme scheme of ABABCC, and stanza four has a rhyme scheme of ABCCBDEDEFGFFFGHHG. It is an incomplete poem with 54 lines because Coleridge was interrupted while he was writing so he could not recollect the other visions he had in his dream.
Connection with Coleridge's Life: Kubla Khan has a direct correlation with Coleridge's life because it was based off visions he had after taking opium the night before. This poem is based off a Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Prior to taking opium that day Coleridge had been reading about the thirteenth century Mongol ruler Kublai Khan and his summer palace. Once he took the drug and went to sleep he had a dream with visions. The next day Coleridge began writing about his dream as a poem, but while he was writing he was interrupted resulting in an incomplete poem because he could not recollect the rest of his dream. Kubla Khan exhibits a connection with Coleridge's life because it represents Coleridge's mind in terms of his imagination.
Connection with Romantic Movement: Kubla Khan portrays the beauty as well as violent side of nature. Beauty and nature were important aspects of the romantic movement. During the romantic movement artists focused on imagination and emotion over reason. Imagination is portrayed in Kubla Khan because it depicts the imagination in Coleridge's opium based visions. Nature and its beauty are depicted when Coleridge describe's the palace of Xanada.
Quotes:
"And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,/Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;/And here were forests ancient as the hills,/Enflolding sunny spots of greenery"(8-11).
"His flashing eyes, his floating hair!/Weave a circle around him thrice,[...]"(50-51).
Kubla Khan was written in 1797. It was influenced by visions Coleridge had from taking opium. The poem starts out with an emperor Kubla Khan in his palace in Xanada. The narrator then talks about the beauty of the land and the Alph river that flows through the land. He talks about Kubla Khan’s thoughts of war while listening to the river flow violently through the canyon. Shortly after he switches gears and talks about another vision he had about a lady who was singing and playing an instrument. He talks about how her singing made him have feelings to sing in his vision as well. The narrator’s song helps him create the land of Xanada in his vision. Towards the end of the vision the narrator sees a man with “flashing eyes” which is supposed to be Kubla Khan himself.
Themes: 1)Nature's Beauty 2)Nature's Violence 3)Consciousness of the Human Mind
4) Imagination
Poetic Structure: Kubla Khan has four stanzas and is written in iambic tetrameter. It has an alternating rhyme scheme in each stanza. Stanza one has a rhyme scheme of ABAABCCDEDE, stanza two has a rhyme scheme of ABAABCCDDFFGGHIIHJJ, stanza three has a rhyme scheme of ABABCC, and stanza four has a rhyme scheme of ABCCBDEDEFGFFFGHHG. It is an incomplete poem with 54 lines because Coleridge was interrupted while he was writing so he could not recollect the other visions he had in his dream.
Connection with Coleridge's Life: Kubla Khan has a direct correlation with Coleridge's life because it was based off visions he had after taking opium the night before. This poem is based off a Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Prior to taking opium that day Coleridge had been reading about the thirteenth century Mongol ruler Kublai Khan and his summer palace. Once he took the drug and went to sleep he had a dream with visions. The next day Coleridge began writing about his dream as a poem, but while he was writing he was interrupted resulting in an incomplete poem because he could not recollect the rest of his dream. Kubla Khan exhibits a connection with Coleridge's life because it represents Coleridge's mind in terms of his imagination.
Connection with Romantic Movement: Kubla Khan portrays the beauty as well as violent side of nature. Beauty and nature were important aspects of the romantic movement. During the romantic movement artists focused on imagination and emotion over reason. Imagination is portrayed in Kubla Khan because it depicts the imagination in Coleridge's opium based visions. Nature and its beauty are depicted when Coleridge describe's the palace of Xanada.
Quotes:
"And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,/Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;/And here were forests ancient as the hills,/Enflolding sunny spots of greenery"(8-11).
"His flashing eyes, his floating hair!/Weave a circle around him thrice,[...]"(50-51).