Kubla Kahn

"Kubla Khan", whose complete title is "Kubla Khan, or a Vision in a Dream is a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It is a poem of expression and helps suggest mystery, supernatural, and mystical themes.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, author of the poem Kubla Khan , was born on October 21, 1772 in the town of Ottery St Mary, Devonshire. Coleridge was aEnglish poet, critic, and philosopher. He, as well as his friend William Wordsworth, were of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England.

Coeridge, considered the greatest of Shakespearean critic, used langueage to express the images and pictures that were in his imagination in the poem Kubla Khan.

Coleridge claimed that it was written in the autumn of 1797 at a farmhouse near Exmoor, but it may have been composed on one of a number of other visits to the farm. It may also have been revised a number of times before it was first published in 1816.

Coleridge claimed that the poem was inspired by a dream but the composition or the person from Porlock interrupted the composition, or piece. He said he was interrupted by this visitor from Porlock (a town in the South West of England, near) while in the process of writing it. Kubla Khan is only 54 lines long and was never completed. Also, a quote from William Bartram is believed to have been a source of the poem. There is a huge speculation on the poem's meaning, some suggesting the author is just portraying his vision while others think there is a theme or purpose. Others believe it is a poem stressing the beauty of creation. The lines of the poem Kubla Khan sound like a chant, and help suggest mystery, supernatural, and mystical themes of the poem. In the first two lines, Coleridge describes the "pleasure dome" in Xanadu. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree Kubla Khan did not merely order, but decree that a "stately pleasure dome" be built. This dome is evidence of how unnatural or unreal the place of Xanadu is it has a ruler who ignores the unpleasantness that can be found in life.

He uses his vocabulary to challenge and tease the imagination into seeing what he saw in his dream. In Xanadu, there are not small streams, but "sinuous rills" and wall and towers do not enclose the gardens but are 'girdled round'. Coleridge's use of language helps to convey and interrupt the extent of his imagination. The poem is most famous for its closing lines 53-54, where Coleridge is likely referring to himself reaching paradise through his poem. "For he on honey-dew hath fed,

And drunk the milk of Paradise."

In the poem Kubla Khan, imagery is also important for Coleridge to show his imagination to the reader. There are images of paradise throughout the poem that are combined with references to darker, more evil places such as hell. On example of this is the "demon lover" that has bewitched the woman. Coleridge's image of the "dome of pleasure" is mystical, contradicting the restrictions of realism. The structure of Kubla Khan is really in two parts. The first, describes Xanadu as if Coleridge is actually there, experiencing the place first hand. The second part of the poem is filled with longing and a strong want to be in Xanadu, but Coleridge is unable to capture the experience again. It begins with a definite rhythm and beat and describes the beauty of Xanadu with rich and strong images. The second part is that it depicts the violence of life outside of the pleasure dome and even mentions the threat of war. It is proven that beauty and danger cannot be separated from each other, despite what the ruler Kubla Khan wants.

Kubla Khan is a self-portrayal by Coleridge who believes that it is he who controls the land of Xanadu. A sunny pleasure dome