Kubla Khan Poem Analysis

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Mother Nature vs. The Universe There is a fascinating story behind the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It is unknown whether or not it is true, but it is widely believed that Coleridge wrote the poem after waking up from an opium-influenced dream. He writes about a man named Kubla Khan who creates a paradise-like kingdom. This kingdom is home to a “pleasure-dome”, a woman wailing for her demon lover, and a “deep romantic chasm.” The lines “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.” draw attention to two themes in the poem. The theme of the relationship between man and the natural world, and the theme of different …show more content…

The speaker brings up this “dome” many times throughout the poem. It it Kubla Khan’s home, and where he watches over all the land. The speaker refers to all the land as “measureless to man.” While Kubla is in the pleasure dome, a place filled with sun and gardens, Kubla watches the “measureless” land and repeats it over and over again to emphasize how much bigger and permanent this land is compared to man. Coleridge’s repetition of the pleasure dome emphasizes how it is the most important symbol in the poem because it is a place of safety. The shelter is everything to man that the oceans, trees, and rivers are not. Peace and protection. Coleridge also repeats the idea of the caverns …show more content…

This poem reveals the power of imaginative poetry. Kubla Khan’s power over Xanadu represents the power Coleridge has over his own mind. Coleridge has made up an entire universe that is solely his own. He shows the relationship man has with nature in many different alternate universes. In this poem, Coleridge successfully illustrates the powers of

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