Kubla Khan

Kubla Khan Context and History

Samuel Taylor Coleridge is one of the first-generation Romantic poets.

In 'Kubla Khan,' Coleridge speaks of a distant place and an exotic figure that would hold a great deal of interest for his readers who were unfamiliar with non-European persons and culture.

It is rumoured that the poem and its idea came to Coleridge in an opioid-induced dream. Upon waking, he penned the poem but was interrupted by a 'visitor from Porlock' who stayed for an hour. After the visitor's departure, Coleridge couldn't recall the poem, and it is rumoured to be unfinished. Scholars have often questioned the integrity of this tale.

Kubla Khan Critical Analysis

This section dives into the poem 'Kubla Khan.' You are advised to read the poem twice. In your first reading, pay close attention to details such as the rhymes, rhythm, word choice, and figures of speech. Consider the poem's broad strokes and overarching themes in your second reading.

Kubla Khan Poem

Kubla Khan Summary

The poem begins with the speaker describing Kubla Khan's palace in Xanadu. They outline the grandeur of the 'pleasure dome' and the beauty of the palace surroundings. In the second stanza, the speaker continues describing the palace's land. Still, their description takes on violent undertones as they illustrate the waters fiercely flowing through the chasm and into the ocean.

Finally, in the third stanza, the speaker breaks away from describing Xanadu and reminisces about their visions. In them, the speaker witnesses a woman playing the dulcimer. The speaker hopes to recreate the melody and fill the palace in Xanadu with it. They then describe Kubla Khan as a ferocious, intimidating figure that has consumed the 'milk of Paradise.'

Kubla Khan structure

This section will investigate the structure of the poem 'Kubla Khan'.

Form

The poem 'Kubla Khan' does not conform to a strict form of poetry such as a ballad, sonnet, or ode. It consists of 3 stanzas, wherein the first stanza is 11 lines long, the second stanza is 25 lines long, and the third stanza is 18 lines long. Since the poem is not constrained by a strict form, rhyme scheme, or meter, it grants the poet total freedom in conveying the meaning as they desire it. This freedom from formal and structural restrictions of poetry also characterises the theme of creativity and imagination elaborated upon in the poem.

Meter

There is no strict meter or metrical pattern in the poem 'Kubla Khan.' However, the poet does use the iambic foot, with lines in the iambic pentameter, iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Since the meter regularly fluctuates, the poem appears fragmented, with some lines more prolonged than others. This disjointedness reflects the speaker's (and the poet's) vision, which is also fragmented and not entirely coherent.

Rhyme scheme

In 'Kubla Khan,' rhyming patterns emerge in the poem but do not conform to a specific type of poem. For example, the first five lines in the first stanza have the rhyme scheme ABAAB. As the stanza progresses, there is somewhat an interlocking rhyme with the rhyme scheme continuing as follows: CCDBDB. The uneven yet rhyming lines of the poem add to its fragmented yet dreamy quality.

Kubla Khan poetic devices

This section looks into some of the poetic devices of the poem 'Kubla Khan.'

Alliteration

The poem 'Kubla Khan' employs alliteration in numerous instances.

For example, in the first five lines of the first stanza, there is an alliteration in each line. In line 1, the 'K' sound is repeated in 'Kubla Khan.' In line 2, the 'd' sound is repeated in '-dome decree,' thus marking instances of alliteration. Can you identify other examples of alliteration in the poem? How do these affect the reading of the poem? Does the poem seem to speed up or slow down as it progresses?

Chiasmus

There are two instances of chiasmus in the poem 'Kubla Khan.'

In the poem 'Kubla Khan,' the first instance of chiasmus is in lines 9 and 10:

In the first line, the speaker mentions a place where trees began to grow. The 'where' identifies the place, and the blossoming of trees marks the action at a specific time. In the following line, these concepts are inverted, wherein the time is described with the word 'ancient,' indicating that the trees have been 'here' for a long time. This inversion marks the chiasmus.

The second instance of chiasmus in the poem is in lines 50 and 53. You will notice that here, the words are not repeated. Chiasmus does not require the repetition of words. Instead, identify what the subject and object of the first line are, and how these are inverted in the second.

Extended metaphor

The extended metaphor in the poem 'Kubla Khan' can be found in the third stanza.

In 'Kubla Khan,' the extended metaphor can be found in lines 45-54. This extended metaphor ties in with the theme of creativity.

Here, the speaker describes their vision of Xanadu and of Kubla Khan. They are inspired by the song and melody of the woman playing the dulcimer to recreate the palace's grandeur in Xanadu and the ferocious, mysterious figure of Kubla Khan. This reflects the creative imagination and visions of poets and artists who are inspired to create great or perhaps mysterious works of art. Furthermore, the 'milk of Paradise' may reference opium as Coleridge 'hallucinated' the poem after consuming opium.

Personification

The poem 'Kubla Khan' includes examples of personification.

One instance of personification in 'Kubla Khan' is found in line 7, where the walls and towers are 'girdled,' meaning encircled by 'miles of fertile ground.'

Kubla Khan themes

The main themes of the poem 'Kubla Khan' are violence and artistic creativity.

After their initial description of the sublime beauty of Xanadu and 'pleasure dome,' the speaker's description of the palace and its surroundings grows increasingly tumultuous and violent. This is mirrored by the change in the poem's pace, as the reader is assaulted by images of water rushing through the canyon, crashing against rocks and finally flowing into the sea.

The speaker highlights these violent images with powerful, evocative language, indicating that there is beauty and pleasure in destruction. The violence of the words and images builds up towards the climax, with Kubla Khan cutting a mysterious yet arresting figure, who the speaker warns against.

The final stanza, including the extended metaphor, is also a nod to the visions that grip poets and artists to create wondrous works of art. The hallucinatory tones of the final stanza draw the link between artistic inspiration and the human mind. Here, the speaker and the poet, i.e., Coleridge, seemingly become one, alluding to Coleridge dreaming up the poem in an opioid-induced sleep.