Kubla Khan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1772 to 1834
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.
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 there 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 ’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!
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.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Kubla Khan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" stands as a pinnacle of Romantic poetry, blending vivid imagery, exotic settings, and a dreamlike atmosphere to create a work that has captivated readers and scholars for centuries. Subtitled "Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment," the poem immediately situates itself in the realm of the subconscious, inviting readers into a world where reality and imagination intertwine.
The poem opens with the declaration of Kubla Khan's decree to build a "stately pleasure-dome" in Xanadu, a place that exists both in historical reality (as the summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire) and in the mythical landscape of Coleridge's imagination. This juxtaposition of the real and the imagined is a recurring theme throughout the work, reflecting the Romantic preoccupation with the power of imagination to transform and transcend reality.
The first stanza paints a picture of a paradise-like setting, with the sacred river Alph running through "caverns measureless to man" down to a "sunless sea." This imagery establishes a sense of vastness and mystery, while also introducing the motif of water that flows throughout the poem. The description of the pleasure grounds, with their "walls and towers," "gardens bright with sinuous rills," and "forests ancient as the hills," creates a lush, sensual landscape that seems almost too perfect to be real.
However, this idyllic scene is dramatically contrasted in the second stanza with the introduction of a "deep romantic chasm." This shift in tone from serene beauty to savage wildness is characteristic of the Romantic fascination with the sublime - beauty tinged with terror. The chasm is described as a "savage place" that is simultaneously "holy and enchanted," haunted by a "woman wailing for her demon-lover." This vivid and unsettling image introduces an element of the supernatural and hints at forbidden desires, adding depth and complexity to the poem's exploration of human experience.
The fountain that erupts from this chasm is described in violent, almost sexual terms, with "ceaseless turmoil seething" and "fast thick pants," suggesting a primal, uncontrollable force of nature. The "sacred river" that emerges from this tumult meanders through the landscape before sinking into "caverns measureless to man," echoing the opening lines and creating a circular structure that reinforces the dreamlike quality of the poem.
Amidst this chaotic scene, Kubla Khan hears "ancestral voices prophesying war," a line that introduces a note of foreboding and suggests the transience of human endeavors in the face of natural and supernatural forces. The image of the pleasure-dome's shadow floating on the waves further emphasizes this theme, presenting the grand construction as insubstantial and ephemeral.
The final sections of the poem shift dramatically, moving from the description of Xanadu to the poet's own vision of "a damsel with a dulcimer." This Abyssinian maid, singing of Mount Abora (another mythical location), represents artistic inspiration. The poet laments his inability to fully recall or recreate her "symphony and song," highlighting the frustration of artistic creation and the gap between inspiration and execution.
The poem concludes with a powerful vision of poetic frenzy, as the speaker imagines that if he could revive the maid's song, he would be able to build Kubla's dome in air through the sheer force of his imagination. The final lines, with their warnings and images of the poet as a wild, inspired figure who has "drunk the milk of Paradise," present a complex view of the poetic process as both divine inspiration and potentially dangerous madness.
Throughout "Kubla Khan," Coleridge employs rich, sensory language and varied metrical patterns to create a hypnotic, musical quality that mirrors the content of the poem. The use of alliteration, assonance, and internal rhyme ("sunless sea," "woman wailing," "midst the tumult Kubla heard") contributes to the poem's dreamlike atmosphere and reinforces its themes of creativity and the power of language.
In conclusion, "Kubla Khan" is a masterful exploration of imagination, creativity, and the sublime. Through its vivid imagery, musical language, and complex themes, the poem invites readers to consider the relationship between reality and fantasy, the nature of artistic inspiration, and the power and limitations of human creation. Its enduring appeal lies in its ability to transport readers to a world where the boundaries between the conscious and unconscious, the real and the imagined, are beautifully blurred.