Summary of Kubla Khan

Kubla Khan Poem Summary

Lines 1-2 In these lines, Coleridge introduces Kubla Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire in China during the thirteenth century A! "is #ingdom symboli$ed %ealth and mystery to Europeans e&er since Marco 'olo first %rote about his tra&els there( throughout the poe m, Coleridge builds a sense of the e)otic and mysterious *he second line emphasi$es Kubla Khan+s po%er as he orders a fitting  palace for himself It also hints at one of the many contrasts that that %ill appear in the poem as the %ord stately con&eying the grandeur and ma.esty of Kubla Khan+s creation, is paired %ith the idea of a pleasure dome, a place of lu)ury and leisure *he opening images of the poem bear stri#ing similarities to the follo%ing /uotation from 'urchas+s Pilgrimage, 'urchas+s Pilgrimage, %hich  %hich Coleridge said he %as reading immediately before he drifted into his deep sleep0 In amdu did Cublai Can builde a stately a stately 'alace,  'alace, encompassing si)teene miles of miles of plaine ground  plaine ground  %ith a wall, %herein wall, %herein are fertile are fertile Meddo%es,  Meddo%es, pleasant springs, delightful treames, and all sorts of  beasts of chase and game, and in the middest thereof a suptuous house of pleasure.” of pleasure.” As you loo# through the first eight lines, notice the %ords that Coleridge has borro%ed It is also interesting to notice the changes %hich he h e made 3or e)ample, anadu anad u fits the poem+s iambic tetrameter, %here amdu %ould not Line 4 Khan chooses to build this dome on o n the site of a sacred ri&er, %hich Coleridge calls the Alph Although no ri&er %ith this name e)ists, the name itself suggests or has the connotation of a  beginning *his is because Alph Alph is so similar to Alpha, the first letter letter of the 5ree# alphabet, %hich has as an alternate meaning, beginning Coleridge, li#e many poets, li#es to e)periment %ith language and in&ent %ords %o rds to pro&ide added guides to meaning mea ning Critics ha&e also identified the Alph %ith such different ri&ers as the 6ile, the Alpheus ri&er in 5reece, and the fourth ri&er to flo% out of the 5arden of Eden 6ote that the %ord ri&er is al%ays accompanied by the ad.ecti&e sacred ince ri&ers and %ater are life-gi&ing, the sacred ri&er may be seen as a symbol of life Lines 7-8 A second contrast is introduced %ith these lines After After the ri&er lea&es the area %here Kubla Khan creates his #ingdom, it flo%s beyond man +s reach reach into a series of underground ca&erns Measureless to man con&eys not only ca&erns that man cannot physically ph ysically map, but areas that are beyond the reach of his full comprehension *he ri&er has as its ultimate destination the 1

Kubla Khan sunless sea, a place %ithout light and life an d a complete contrast to the earlier impression of the ri&er Lines 9-: In these lines, Coleridge returns to the construction of Khan+s #ingdom *en miles of land, %hich are e)ceptionally rich, are enclosed behind a %all %ith to%ers to protect it *he pleasure dome is not a public sight a&ailable to an yone %ho %ishes to &isit It is a pri&ate domain *his ma#es it /uite different from the poet+s creation that %ill be discussed later in the poem Lines ;-11 "ere another contrast is introduced *he gardens, planted or culti&ated areas designed by humans, fill part of the area %ith brightly colored flo%ers and s%eet smelling trees, %atered by numerous %inding broo#s that branch off from the sacred ri&er *hese gardens are set among ancient forests, %hich ha&e been there as long as the land itself *he ri&er and forests pro&ide an ageless bac#drop for Khan+s dream Although Coleridge notes the differences bet%een Khan+s  planned estate and nature+s realm, both seem to e)ist in a harmonious balance *he #ingdom described in lines 9 to 11 is created by using an e&ocati&e series of images of an earthly paradise,  perhaps e&en a type of Eden Lines 12-14 Line 12 begins by signaling ne% and e&en greater contrasts that the follo%ing lines %ill de&elop as they describe the deep crac# in the earth hidden under the gro&e of cedar trees Line 17 *his is no artificial or manmade place It is unreached by culti&ation and ci&ili$ation, a magic and e&en blessed spot that e)ists outside of man+s understanding *he calm and balance of lines ; through 11 are missing in this primiti&e, %ild place -22 *he po%er of the fountain that pours forth the ri&er is apparent as huge boulders are tossed up %ith the %ater *%o similes are used to illustrate this force In the first, the huge boulders are compared to hail *he second ma#es them seem e&en lighter A thresher is a person or machine %ho separates the useful, hea&ier part of a #ernel of grain from its lighter, useless shell or chaff Although Khan+s gardens initially seem a place of peace and balance, Khan himself hears a different message coming from the distant rumbles of the chasm and the ca&e *he tumult of the ri&er issues a %arning that human creations are not permanent *he &oices of his ancestors  pro&ide testimony to the fact that the greatest creations of the %orld e&entually come to ruin *hus, too, the elegant dome is threatened %ith the destruction of %ar Lines 41-47 *he &arious contrasts Coleridge has described in the p oem so far come together in these lines *he poem returns to that part of this earthly paradise %hich Kubla Khan has constructed, the  pleasuredome( ho%e&er, in these lines, it is not seen directly, merely as a shado% 6o% the contrasting element, the turmoil of the fountain and the message of the ca&erns, seems to o&ershado% the dome+s image, %arning that man+s creation is transitory( nature endures 3

Kubla Khan Lines 48-49 In these lines, Coleridge ends the first part of the poem, describing Kubla Khan and his %orld *he meter returns to iambic pentameter here, gi&ing the lines a slo%er, measured /uality *his meter helps to emphasi$e the mood of regret and loss in these lines as they summari$e Kubla Khan+s creati&e achie&ement "e harmoni$ed opposing forces, sun and ice, in his miraculous dome, %hich has since &anished %ithout trace Lines 4:-4; *he poet himself becomes the sub.ect as the poem mo&es from Kubla Khan+s physical creation to the poet+s &ision as he recounts seeing a young girl playing a stringed musical instrument in a dream *he poem shifts from third person to the first person, I 6ote that the meter also changes again and becomes e&en more regular as the poem returns to the light, upbeat tempo of iambic tetrameter throughout much of this stan$a Lines 4=-71 Coleridge again in&ents or adapts names to con.ure a sense of mystery or the e)otic *he maid in the &ision, li#e Kubla Khan, is from a foreign place Abyssinia is another name for Ethiopia Mount Abora, li#e Alph, is a name that Coleridge created "o%e&er, se&eral critics note its similarity to Mount Amara in Milton+s Paradise Lost. *he reader is not gi&en any details of the &ision( no images are pro&ided *he reader may assume that Mount Abora is similar to Khan+s  paradise only because the poet says that it creates such deep delight Lines 72-78 *his phrasing of these lines is unusual Could is used as a conditional &erb here, and the entire sentence becomes a speculation If the poet can reco&er the dream, he %ill create a &ision of 'aradise( the beauty of the &ision %ill transform the poet and enable him to use the music of his  poetry to build %ith %ords %hat Kubla Khan had built in his #ingdom *he poem lea&es unans%ered %hether or not the poet %ill be able to capture that dream Lines 79-7; "ere, the poet describes the po%er of successful poetic &ision( not only can he rene% his &ision,  but he has the po%er to con&ey it to all %ho hear or %ho read his %ords *his ser&es as a contrast to the Khan+s pleasure-dome, bound by %alls and not meant for all to use Lines 7=-82

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Kubla Khan All of those around the poet are %ary of him because he is caught up in a #ind of enchantment or  madness during his &ision "is eyes glitter in a fren$y of creati&ity *his creati&ity, li#e that of the sacred ri&er, comes from tumult "e is &ie%ed %ith holy dread bec ause he has dra%n his &ision from a place similar to the chasm described e arlier, a place sacred and enchanted, pagan yet blessed *he idea of the poet being possessed by his &ision is not ne% %ith Coleridge *he 5ree#s belie&ed that creati&ity %as often a type of momentary madness Lines 84-87 "oney-de% refers to the s%eet honey-li#e substance that certain flo%ers, such as honeysuc#le,  produce in the summer Another %ord for this li/uid is nectar, #no%n as the food of the gods