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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Kubla Khan

Coleridge is considered by many to be the quintessential Romantic writer. This poem, Kubla Khan, is one of his greatest works. Legend has it that Coleridge had these visions in the midst of a dream while on opium. When he awoke, he sat down and wrote this poem. This poem is a difficult one. Try your best to read it, take it apart, and then comment on the Romantic elements you see.

Due: MIDNIGHT, Thursday, Nov. 16

posted by RJS at 9:42 AM

7 Comments:

  • I'm just a little bit afraid of being the first to answer, (if I am by the time I'm done typing) but I will attempt to make the first comments. Firstly, I believe Xanadu was also the name of the mansion in Citizen Kane, and I've heard that word many times. Kublai Khan never would have gotten to western Greece, where the Alph River apparently is, strangely. Nevertheless, it is a very imaginative poem, which is immediately romantic in itself, describing fancifully the nature around such a pleasure-dome as Kublai allegedly had. The river in the poem appears to, perhaps, symbolize the passage of time and fortune for an empire, like Kublai's perhaps, as it bursts forward gloriously only to face the eventually necessary fate of reaching the sea, despite its great length and majesty. Empires are forged by wars, and Kublai hears the ancestral voices prophesying war as the tumult of the "empire" river arises. I don't have any sort of idea what a singing Ethiopian would symbolize, even if she does inspire Coleridge to possibly recreate the pleasure-dome. The material in the poem is not technically logical, so it is a romantic poem, or at least not of the Enlightenment, and it focuses on nature and imaginative images rather than a political essay. That's about all I've got, maybe someone else will take a stab at figuring this poem out, now.

    By Blogger Unknown, at Thursday, November 16, 2006 7:19:00 PM  

  • Nate, I really like your idea about the passage of time and would like to apply it to a broader scale. A good Romantic would indeed bring up something about the futility of attempting to peramanently establish something on land already claimed- in this case very extremely- by nature. Or perhaps the "be all and the end all" (which Shakespearean play was that from?) refers to nature itself. What was it Frost said, "Nothing gold can stay."
    Both the man-made palace and the elements of nature in the poem are beautiful- and both died.
    Now what did Coleridge mean about rebuilding the dome? I see two possibilities, 1. a statement about the possible uses of human imagination, or 2. (which I like better) an allusion to heaven. Admitedly, 2 is probably less likely. However, I see a possiblity for Coleridge writing about the supreme state of reality, where beauty that has died becomes itself.
    The ancestral voices prophesizing war seem to refer to the futile human squabbles over monarchies, religion, societal bounds, and other such changes that history students would one day have to memorize or else risk facing the wrath of their teacher. Yet in the aftermath none of it can last. All things are destroyed, "s(i)nk in tumult to a lifeless ocean." Well, the ocean may look lifeless on the surface. But diving beneath the waves reveals something quite different. The only problem is there are no unmanned probes, no way to send back reports. The only way to discover that reality is to die, and presumably enter the ocean.
    Well, that got rather deep. (Ha, deep, ocean, deep ocea. . . er hem). Maybe I'm wrong and this is all just pointless conjecture to which Coleridge would reply, "Dude, you need to lay back, just ( how did Wilder put it) listen to some tunes and branch out."

    By Blogger ThomasBatson, at Thursday, November 16, 2006 10:32:00 PM  

  • The super natural qualities assigned to Kubla Khan's domain are very characteristic of Romanticism, as a chief interest of the romantics was evidence of a world beyond the corporeal. The word Xanadu emplies a place of great beauty and contentment amid paradise-esque surroundings. The prescence of the Alph River in the poem adds to the fairy tale feel of the poem as only a feature of greek mythos can. This poem is also centered on a single individual, emphasis on which is another staple of romanticism. Perhaps the lines concerning the savage wood are symbolic of an instinct-based epiphany, both nature and romanticism are often associated with instinct and intuition.

    By Blogger laura, at Thursday, November 16, 2006 10:49:00 PM  

  • This is a poem that paints no clear picture. It is a surreal dream, a definite romantic focus. As stated in the introduction, instead of trying to find wonder in nature, Coleridge tries to bring supernatural elements into reality, as a sort of more pleasing illusion, drawn around exotic lands and themes. The poem is parallel to his opium trips. It is an escape from reality to a wonderous, fantastic and mysterious place, with undertones of terror and instability, much like the depths of the human subconcious. It is a separate plane, which as the main focus of the poem is a mark of romanticism.

    By Blogger Victoria, at Friday, November 17, 2006 9:58:00 PM  

  • Coleridge uses extensive detail to describe his "dream" which automatically classifies him as romantic. I find it funny that he would have "dream" about something as random as a Mongolian ruler but he was under the influence of opium. Anyway, Coleridge decribes the wealth and power Khan gained during his rule. The poem also depicts Khan as a warrior. "And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
    Ancestral voices prophesying war!" Kublai continued his grandfather's work and started his own dynasty. The poem also shows the Mongolian ideas of polytheism and belief in an afterlife. I'm not quite sure what the Abysinnian woman has anything to do with it all but she adds romantic elements with her songs. Coleridge's poem is romantic because of his use of imagery and illusions.

    By Blogger taylor, at Monday, November 20, 2006 9:31:00 AM  

  • Please excuse the lateness of this since I was out of school thursday and friday.

    It seems that this poem is divided into two parts. The first with Kubla Khan going down this river into a cavern where he sees a woman, and a gyser or something bursts up and sends rocks flying everywhere and throws the river into the air, i think, and sends it into the ocean maybe. That's what it looked like anyway. The second part is the author listening to a girl play the dulcimer and tell this tale, and how the author wishes he could build what she is saying. I think.
    It is romantic even before it begins, with Coleridge being on opium. Since drugs were characteristic of this time period, and also since it is a poem about a dream. Poems were these emotive art forms that the enlightened philosophes found useless, and during the romantic movement dreams and the supernatural were the things that people sepnt time to consider. Within the poem it doesnt tell of the person or the charaters but of what they see. Through imagery the author portrays his dream. It seemed odd however that this poem should be structured in the way that it is. It follows a logical rhyme scheme, and logic being part of the enlightenment seems out of place. But maybe thats just how the idea came to him, or maybe thats just how people wrote poems during this time. I did really like this poem though, in its complexity it is incredibly interesting.

    By Blogger manxomefoe, at Wednesday, November 22, 2006 8:42:00 AM  

  • It seems like he dreamed up a story about a random emperor's explorations and decided that he was Kubla Khan (isn't he Mongolian or something?). The first romantic element that jumps out at me is that it's story-like and rather fictional, though it's difficult to say exactly what's going on. There's something about a journey, and wars, and a woman in love(another romantic element [literature having a more personal level]). Of course, at the end he starts talking about a woman playing the dulcimer for him, which is a clear point that the poem was about a dream. Writing about dreams was popular for Romantic writers as well. Romantic thinkers were fascinated with the supernatural and subconscious. Other than that, it's a rather extremely confusing poem, and I had no idea what was going on.
    It rhymed though. I like that.

    (sorry for the delay)

    By Blogger TeganLove, at Saturday, November 25, 2006 9:05:00 PM  

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