Poetry Explication By Ally Lyall and Maddi Hallmark

Kubla Khan Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge Written: 1798 Poem Source:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Ottery St. Mary on October 21, He was the youngest of 10 children. After joining the Army, he met and married Sara Fricker in October of 1795 and they had three children. As he grew older, he rapidly worked himself into debt due to his life- long addictions to opium, alcohol, and women and this eventually led to divorce with his wife. Source:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round: And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place! as holy and enchanted As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted By woman wailing for her demon-lover! And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething, As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, A mighty fountain momently was forced; Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail, 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! The shadow of the dome of pleasure Floated midway on the waves: Where was heard the mingled measure From the fountain and the caves. It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid, And on her dulcimer she played, Singing of Mount Abora. Could I revive within me Her symphony and song, To such a deep delight 't would 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! Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread, For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise. Kubla Khan Source:

Kubla Khan Paraphrased I, Kubla Khan live in Xanadu and had a fancy and beautiful palace built. The river, Alph, flows through my land, all the way down to the sea. Walls surrounded the palace and bright gardens and blooming trees fill the land with greenery. But the strong river keeps beckoning me back, like a woman calling for her love. This swift and fast river continuously rushes down the mountainside, bouncing off rocks, and reminds me of hail. Alph slows down as it meanders through the forests, and once it reaches the cliff, it falls into the ocean. Listening to the river I am reminded of war. The view of the entire palace and landscape is a beautiful sight. The cold caves contrast with the warm-filled palace. I once had a vision of a girl playing a dulcimer and singing about a place called Mount Abora. If I could bring to life, my vision, I myself could create amazing things. My vision becomes so real, that people should beware. Its power is strong enough to make me a god of all the land. Source:

Diction Formal Language, Abstract, Vivid, No Slang Vivid expressions are created in the poem through semantics, because the author uses very descriptive words Words such as “wailing, seething, turmoil, delight, pleasure, and so on” are examples of words that have good or bad connotation When the author refers to things such as a palace, a damsel, and a dulcimer, it shows that the poem is set in the past

Tone and Mood At the beginning, the poem conveys a happy and serene scene. –“And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills. Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree.” In the middle of the poem, when Kubla Khan is thinking about the caverns and war, his thoughts become dark and ominous –“By woman wailing for her demon-lover! And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething” The poem ends with a powerful and mighty tone as the author realizes the power he could obtain. –“Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair!”

Tone and Mood (cont.) Overall this poem has a pretty serious mood, but the tone changes frequently due to Khan’s continuous thoughts. This poem deals with irony when compared to the author’s life –In the poem Kubla Khan has a lot of power and lives in a paradise –In Coleridge’s life, he dealt with debt, addictions, and failure which left him lonely and poor The poem took the reader from peacefulness, to the reality of life’s struggles, and ended with a empowering feeling

Rhetorical Situation The speaker is acting as a narrator to describe Kubla Khan’s life and analyze his thoughts on certain situations As the reader, we are overhearing the poem being narrated like it’s a story being told to us

Figurative Language Similes: –“Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail.” Personification: –“Alph, the sacred river, ran through caverns; dancing rocks; the shadow of the dome of pleasure floated midway on the waves” Idiom – “lifeless ocean” Hyperbole –“caverns measureless to man”

Imagery Kubla Khan creates the mental picture of a palace that is safe, sunny, and warm. It is built in a beautiful green and vibrant area, with raging oceans, rivers, and cliffs. This poem is nosey, active and even dangerous. The green gardens make you feel peaceful where the ocean makes you feel gloomy. It is a mysterious dead end. The cliffs give you the image of something freighting. This poem is full of power. It is something different. It is a vision in a dream. Symbolism: The Xanadu palace is really taken from the Mongol and Chinese emperor Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty

Sound The poem Kubla Khan does not really have a rhyme scheme. Repetition: refers to the caverns and also to the river, Alph, multiple times throughout the poem Alliteration: Kubla Khan, dome decree, river ran, measureless to man, and sunless sea Assonance: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, So twice five miles of fertile ground

Poem Structure This poem is considered a “fragment” –its incomplete nature represents aspects of the creative process through its form Stanzas –Has one long continuous stanza Free Verse –The poem has no formal structure Rhyme pattern –No specific pattern, but many of the words at the ends of lines rhyme with each other

Conclusion Overall we think Coleridge was able to convey different moods throughout the poem due to his diction, figurative language, and imagery. The strongest elements were his use of figurative language and imagery to describe the land of Xandu. He referenced the river, Alph, multiple times, but he always kept it interesting His rhyme scheme was subtle and just added to the flow of the poem

Personal Reactions This poem was pretty easy to read because it was structured like a story, but it changed subject often because it is almost set up the way a person thinks in their mind and goes through a variety thoughts At the end the poem gives you a feeling of hope and wonder as Kubla Khan seeks power The poem is from the 1700s, and is set in an even more ancient time, so it is difficult to relate to at some points Overall it was entertaining to read, and it left us with scenes of beautiful greenery and the palace in our head from Coleridge’s use of imagery