Kubla Khan Samuel Taylor Coleridge

a place of great
beauty, luxury, and

contentment
Xanadu...
To stand within the Pleasuredome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste a new the fruits of life
The last immortal man
To find the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
Oh, I will dine on honeydew
And drink the milk of Paradise
Farewell to Kings (1977)
Album by Canadian band Rush
Xanadu, Xanadu, (now we are here) in Xanadu

Xanadu, your neon lights will shine for you, Xanadu
A place where nobody dared to go,
the love that we came to know
They call it Xanadu
And now, open your eyes and see,
what we have made is real
We are in Xanadu
A million lights are dancing and there you are,
a shooting star
An everlasting world and you're here with me,
eternally
Chorus:
Xanadu, your neon lights will shine for you, Xanadu
The love, the echoes of long ago,
you needed the world to know
They are in Xanadu
The dream that came through a million years
That lived on through all the tears, it came to Xanadu
A million lights are dancing and there you are,
a shooting star
An everlasting world and you're here with me,
eternally
Chorus
Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1985)
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree
1797
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Kubla Kahn
A Vision in a Dream
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In that
Xanadu
did
Kubla Khan
But oh!
deep
romantic
chasm which slanted
stately
pleasure
domeadecree:
DownAthe
green
hill athwart
cedarn cover!
Where
Alph,
sacred
river, ran
A savage
place!
asthe
holy
and enchanted
Through
caverns
measureless
man
As e'er
beneath
a waning
moon wasto
haunted
Down
to a sunless
By woman
wailing
for hersea.
demon lover!
So twice
five miles
of ceaseless
fertile ground
And from
this chasm,
with
turmoil seething,
Withearth
wallsin
and
towers
were girdled
round:
As if this
fast
thick pants
were breathing,
AndAfountain
there
were
gardens
bright
with sinuous rills,
A mighty
momently
was
forced:
damsel
with
a dulcimer
many
an incense-bearing
tree;
AmidWhere
whose
half-intermitted
burst
In blossomed
aswift
vision
once
I saw:
here
were
forests
hills,
HugeAnd
fragments
vaulted
likeancient
rebounding
hail,
It
was
an
Abyssinian
maid,as the
Enfolding
sunny
spots
of
greenery.
Or chaffy
grain
beneath
the
thresher's
flail:
TheAnd
shadow
of dulcimer
the
dome
of pleasure
on
her
she
played,
And 'mid
these
dancing
rocks
once and ever
Floated
midway
on Abora.
theat
waves;
Singing
of Mount
It flung Where
up
momently
the
sacred
river.measure
was
heard
the
mingled
Could
I revive
within
me
Five miles
meandering
with
asong,
mazy
motion
From
the
fountain
and
the caves.
Her
symphony
and
Through
wood
the
sacred
river ran,
It was
a and
miracle
of
rare
device,
To such
a dale
deep
delight
'twould
win me,
Then reached
the
caverns
measureless
to of
man,
A That
sunny
pleasure
withlong,
caves
ice!
with
musicdome
loud
and
And sank
tumult
to that
a lifeless
I in
would
build
domeocean:
in air,
And 'midThat
this sunny
tumultdome!
Kubla those
heardcaves
from far
of ice!
Ancestral
voices
prophesying
war!see them there,
And
all who
heard should
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.
Xanadu
Shang Du, in China
summer capital of Kubla Khan who
was the founder of the great
Mongol dynasty.
180 miles north of Beijing.
Kubla Khan built a great 'garden of
delights' with a 'pleasure dome' at
the centre.
soldiers were drugged and
convinced that they were waking
up in paradise - ruse - happily fight
in the emperor's battles
The poem contrasts a man-made, earthly paradise

with a true form of paradise.
Xanadu is unable to resist the demonic forces and is
doomed to be annihilated.
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.
SECTION 1 (lines 1 11)

Introduction to ruler, place, and decree
Kubla Kahn decrees an earthly paradise, Xanadu
Fulfulment of the decree
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!
SECTION 2
(lines 12 - 30)
Evil reasserts itself woman and demonic lover

Eruption flow of lava
Prophecies of 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!
SECTION 3 (lines 31 36)

Images of a waning paradise
SECTION 4
(lines 37 54)
Vision of heavenly
maid with a zither
Lingering impression
Visionary concept of a
true paradise
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 close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
What is it all about?

metaphorical journey through a complex
labyrinth of symbols and images that represent
the unconscious and seemingly troubled mind
a mosaic of fragments of thoughts and
incomplete themes
intentional ambiguity
Mr Coleridge can write better nonsense verses
than any man in England. (William Hazlitt)
a dissolving phantasmagoria

the poetic process
a poem about poetry
This poem is metapoetry. It is poetry about
poetry.
Wide range of interpretations:
Sex: pleasuredome = penis, chasm = vagina, fountain
= sperm, caverns, wombs etc. etc. etc.
Nature if greater than man: Kubla khan tries to
capture and train nature
Imagination and the process of creation (esp. poetry)
Describes a magical place

Dream of a woman singing.
Writing the poem makes the magic real.
Reality destroys the magic.
Society destroys the poet.
Sense of the
exotic and the
mysterious
Structure
stands within
a wild and
untamed
landscape
Man can
neither map
nor
comprehend
the caverns
Sovereign power
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.
sacred river
Not real
Alpha =
beginning
Symbol of life
Grandeur and
majesty vs
luxury and
leisure
Contrast the
destination of this
lifegiving river is a
place without light and
In Xamdu did Cublailife
Can builde a stately Palace, encompassing
sixteene miles of plaine ground with a wall, wherein are fertile
Meddowes, pleasant springs, delightful Streames, and all sorts
of beasts of chase and game, and in the middest thereof a
suptuous house of pleasure Puchas Pilgimage
NATURAL VERSUS MANMADE
Nature is controlled,
separated and set apart
attempt to control, pattern
and order the natural world
So twice five miles of fertile ground

With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Not a public domain

private place
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; Eastern

And here were forests ancient as the hills,
tranquility
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
Irony it is savage and

haunted
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!
Across, from corner to

corner
This is a place which is not
artificial, not man-made
untouched by civilization
and cultivation beyond
the understanding of man
SIMILE: darkness
descending, woman crying
in anguish for her demon
lover this kind of
supernatural relationship
Chasm is a place of
constant turbulence symbolic imagery of sex
and birth (cp. Calm of
Kublas garden)
Have we descended into the

poets unconscious where
we now encounter
ceaseless turmoil?
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, Personification
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Poetic inspiration sporadic

and intense
Fleeting nature of
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst creative thought
difficult to pin down
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail:
Tremendous power and force of the

mighty fountain is stressed
boulders are first compared to hail,
then grain
Dancing floating on the

surface of the water
(PERSONIFICATION)
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!
Human creations and

stations are not
permanent dome is
threatened by
destructions of war
The pleasure dome now

becomes a shadow:
The shadow of the dome of pleasure

Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
Made
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
according to
A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice!
Khans
PARADOX &
OXYMORON
masterplan
Abyssinia =
Ethiopia
Mount Abora =
Coleridges
creation
Mount Amara
(Milton)
A damsel with a dulcimer

In a vision once I saw:
The poet
It was an Abyssinian maid,himself?
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Conditional
verbs
Does the damsel represent a past moment of

inspiration (maybe a complete poem) that the
poet wishes he could revive?
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
Pleasuredome = the creative mind

sunny: conscious thought
caves of ice:
unconscious/subconscious thought
BUILD IN WORDS/POETRY symphony and song

WHAT KHAN BUILT IN HIS KINGDOM
Poet is caught up in enchantment and mdaness

Eyes flash with creative frenzy
And all who heard should see them there,

And
Biblical Allusion
close your eyes with holy dread,
Garden of EdenFor he on honey-dew hath fed,
Adam & Eve
Honey-dew food of
the gods

Kubla Khan Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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Kubla Khan Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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a place of great

beauty, luxury, and

Xanadu, Xanadu, (now we are here) in Xanadu

Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1985)

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree

The poem contrasts a man-made, earthly paradise

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

SECTION 1 (lines 1 11)

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted

Evil reasserts itself woman and demonic lover

The shadow of the dome of pleasure

SECTION 3 (lines 31 36)

A damsel with a dulcimer

What is it all about?

What is it all about?

What is it all about?

Describes a magical place

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

NATURAL VERSUS MANMADE

So twice five miles of fertile ground

Not a public domain

Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; Eastern

Irony it is savage and

Across, from corner to

Have we descended into the

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

Poetic inspiration sporadic

Tremendous power and force of the

Dancing floating on the

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

Human creations and

The pleasure dome now

The shadow of the dome of pleasure

A damsel with a dulcimer

Does the damsel represent a past moment of

Could I revive within me

Pleasuredome = the creative mind

BUILD IN WORDS/POETRY symphony and song

Poet is caught up in enchantment and mdaness

And all who heard should see them there,

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