Kubla Khan Analysis

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.

.: :.

mogChs!
cDO!!
its an opium induced poem to me. But i really hate this class now and am going to shoot myself in the foot. this class is so retarded.

| Posted on 2009-11-05 | by a guest

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As far as I know... and I am pretty sure about this, he had been reading 'In Purchas His Pilgrimage' about Kublai Khan and his living area, Xanadu in China, within the Forbidden City...
After which he had two opium kernels as feel into the drug induced stupor soon enough.. and like all dreams, there is hardly any sense to the imagez when strung together.. but perhaps if they are viewed separately? With only the rivcer connecting them? And look up gigantic books on dream interpretation

| Posted on 2009-09-14 | by a guest

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Endless cavern can be related withe mothers womb! cavern is dark thats also dark, and the sexual process can alos be related to the birth process!!

| Posted on 2009-06-16 | by a guest

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wow explain the poem instead of writing a whole bunch of bullshit

| Posted on 2009-05-18 | by a guest

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Robert Price
ENG 102-003
Prof. Bullington
April 26, 2009
Milk of Paradise: Elixir of Life or an Immortal Curse
“Xanadu ---- Held within The Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste my bitter triumph
As a mad immortal man
Nevermore shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honey dew
And drunk the milk of Paradise”
Many poems are valued because they are artifacts of an era, expressing the beliefs of the author, and the beliefs of the time period when it was written. “Kubla Khan or A Vision in a Dream” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is one such poem. Interpretation of the poem has been a topic for debate since publication. Even musicians have been inspired by Coleridge’s fragmented vision, and have written songs to offer their own interpretations. Lyrics can be interpreted in the same manner as a poem. By all right many songs could in fact be considered a poem set to music. The progressive-rock band Rush is known for this. Their song “Xanadu” was inspired by Coleridge’s poem. The song creates the “sound” of the poem: a mystical journey through an unknown land. A land created to fulfill every worldly desire a man could have.
First let us look at “Kubla Khan”, written in 1798, Coleridge wrote the poem to describe a vision or dream he had. Coleridge claimed that the poem was written in an opium-induced haze, which is something that can be implied by the poem's subtitle, “A Vision in a Dream.” While many interpret this to be a love poem, it is essentially about nothing; yet there are many different ways it can be “read”—several opinions of the poems deeper meanings can be found. It is a lyrical poem in four stanzas; the overall form is rather chaotic—which emphasizes what we already know about the author’s mental state (blasted on opium) and the source of inspiration (the dream)—the bulk is told in iambic pentameter, then switching to tetrameter, and back again. To explain the purpose behind this use of form is another matter, though mentioning it prepares us making the meaning (at least a little) easier to interpret. The poem is full of imagery, from the “sacred river Alph”—possibly inspired by Greek mythological river god Alpheus—to the “Abyssinian maid”—Abyssinia the location of “Eden” (J.M. Schroeder). Rush does a fair job relating to this in their lyrics. The language used is expressive enough for one to envision the place Coleridge dreamed of. We can envision an Eden-like utopia residing within the towering man-made walls: “…twice five miles of fertile ground with walls and towers were girdled round: and here were gardens bright with sinuous rills…”(6 – 11). Beyond the meadows, and streams, and beneath the groves of trees lies a deep cavern. “But oh! That deep romantic chasm… A savage place! As holy and enchanted as e’er beneath a waning moon…” (12-15). The depth of the cavern also symbolizes the depth in meaning for it is in this second stanza where interpretation begins to differ.
To some the entire poem is about sex, specifically considering these lines: “…a mighty fountain momently was forced, amid whose half-intermitted burst fragments vaulted like rebounding hail…” (19-21). Applying phallic reference to the fountain, then being “forced”, followed by the “burst”, one can see the reason behind these interpretations. Here is one comment made about the poem: “… if he was high on opium and woke up what is to say he didn't have sex while under the influence and wrote how he saw it…” (“Kubla Khan Analysis”). This does make an interesting argument, yet it is hard to prove without Coleridge’s testimony to support. Yes he was influenced by opiates (opiates increase one’s sex drive by increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain) at the time so that also supports the “sex” interpretation; however there is more to this work than sex. From the same lines a different interpretation can be seen: “Whether this is a true supernatural or of humanistic nature is down to the reader to interpret, but what is clear in the next part of the poem is natures cry and display of power in what appears to be an unholy volcanic eruption.” (John Gray) This would be nature revolting over the man-made utopia. While the Rush song “Xanadu” does somewhat support this view, still a very different interpretation can be seen.
Rush’s interpretation of the poem is evident in the lyrics of their song “Xanadu”: a man on a quest for immortality, and what becomes of the man who finally gets what he wants. This in itself casts a different light on the poem entirely and begs the question: what is the milk of Paradise? To answer this question let us look at the lyrics like we did the poem. First, to understand the lyrics, one must understand the meaning that has been tied into the music itself. The song opens with a mystical beginning: long droning note, a tapping wood block adding suspense, the toll of a bell, chimes, and sweet hi-fi. Creating the “sound” of a dreamlike state. Both the wood block and the beat in which it is used is something frequently used in traditional Asian music. This gives us the feeling that we are somewhere in the orient. From the chimes (often used to represent wind and water) we can begin to envision the streams, a wind that rustles through the trees. The sound of birds singing, this plus the wind and water element adds to the idea that we are in a garden or the Eden-like utopia mentioned earlier. The wind begins to howl stronger and the sound resonates or “echoes” as the song progresses as if entering a cave. Slowly building depth in tone and increase in tempo. Slow guitar intro, then more sweet hi-fi into the crescendo – an amazing duel by bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson – followed by Lee’s capturing vocals.
To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honey dew
And drink the milk of Paradise....
I had heard the whispered tales
Of immortality
The deepest mystery
From an ancient book. I took a clue
I scaled the frozen mountain tops
Of eastern lands unknown
Time and Man alone
Searching for the lost ---- Xanadu
Xanadu ---- To stand within The Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste anew 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 honey dew
And drink the milk of Paradise
A thousand years have come and gone
But time has passed me by
Stars stopped in the sky
Frozen in an everlasting view
Waiting for the world to end
Weary of the night
Praying for the light
Prison of the lost ---- Xanadu
Xanadu ---- Held within The Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste my bitter triumph
As a mad immortal man
Nevermore shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honey dew
And drunk the milk of Paradise
Between verses there are changes in tempo and key, resembling that of a punk-rock song. Rush may have chosen to do this to symbolize the original poem’s chaotic form. The song closes in progressive down-tempo; a xylophone giving an almost cheerful tone to this somber tune, as if to give to hope; a “light” at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
From the lyrics we get the impression that “Xanadu” is now a legend, or put another way a “Paradise Lost”. The first verse tells us what the speaker is looking for. Legend tells them that Xanadu lies deep within the mountains. The only access: a maze of frozen caverns cut through the mountain by the river Alph. By the second verse we can understand that this is a quest for immortality. The quest is ever elusive as is man’s attempt to create heaven on earth, an “Eden-like” utopia. Throughout history and literature there are tales of men seeking this very thing. Likewise throughout history and literature there is record of man taking mind-altering drugs to achieve a “higher” state of consciousness. Since publication of this song many have questioned Rush if this is what t

| Posted on 2009-04-27 | by a guest

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Regarding the classical connection to Kubla Khan, go read Ovid because that is probably where Coleridge got it.

| Posted on 2009-04-23 | by a guest

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It took a while but I think I finally nailed this poem. I'm not going to give it away, but suffice to say that Coleridge borrowed much, some words literally, from a Greek/Roman myth, the details of which you will have to discover for yourself. "Alph" is one clue. It is a dark poem. If you know the classical story, then the poem is more accessible to understanding, although some further explication is required. One might also look at Coleridge's relationships with women. That may lead in the right direction toward understanding this poem, although I'm not familiar with the biographical details myself. Knowing more about his personal life may help decipher this poem, but it is not necessary. One final comment. Coleridge took a classical myth and dressed it up in romantic garb, which will become obvious if you are able to uncover the mythical connection. Good luck.

| Posted on 2009-04-23 | by a guest

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I too took this as just being an enchanting place in the forest by a curving stream with cedar trees and all that good stuff but after reading what everyone else was writing I reread the second stanza and I am a woman and could see exactly what everyone has said about the sex, if he was high on opium and woke up what is to say he didn't have sex while under the influence and wrote how he saw it. He is talking about sex I get that part. Ya have to see it open your minds

| Posted on 2009-04-15 | by a guest

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its all about opium indiced dreams its also about a man finding nature

| Posted on 2009-03-27 | by a guest

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I'm taking an advanced level senior english class at my school, and you can interpret it as man intruding himself unto nature, or as an interpretation of an extremely provacative and sexual experience between a man and woman, but while explaining it through terms of nature. Like how the entire 2nd stanza depicts a woman and man in intercourse.
I hate to admit it, but I can actually see this side of the interpretation. :P

| Posted on 2009-02-19 | by a guest

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im not xactly sure wat the poems about but i think its this dude(kubla khan) who is fantasizing about this amazing place with gardens and caves etc. then he either
a) wakes up to discover nothings there
or
b) its all just a fantasy in reality its all dead :)
help!!!!
:D

| Posted on 2009-02-18 | by a guest

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its an opium induced poem to me. But i really hate this class now and am going to shoot myself in the foot. this class is so retarded.

| Posted on 2009-02-10 | by a guest

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Kubla Khan is a poem referencing a poet's creative process. In Coleridge's opium-induced sleep he comes across "a stately pleasure-dome decree" a.k.a. a symbol of the vast depth of creative possibility. In this "pleasure-dome" the sacred rive runs "through caverns measurless to man". This references the poet's IMAGINATION, which Coleridge was very keen on (see his reference to the Primary and Secondary imagination in his Biographia Literaria). In the poet's imagination he could take fragements from life and dissolve, dissipate, and diffuse them to re-create a new whole (which is how the second stanza functions...a bunch of fragments of rawness and turmoil envoking the concept of the sublime which later "reached the caverns measureless to man). So the fragmented images a poet collects while conscious are reassembled by the imagination to create a new whole/ a poem. By the third stanza you have the start of a re-creation of these fragments when Coleridge is interupted. The reference of Kubla hearing prophesying of war refers to the potential forces that can destroy a poet's creative process (such as happens here in this poem).

| Posted on 2009-01-19 | by a guest

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Prologue:
"On awakinging he appeared to himself to have a distinct recollection of the whole; and taking his pen, ink, and paper, instantly and eagerly wrote down the lines that are here preserved." The poet wrote down the things that he remembered from his dream, but was rudely interrupted by business destroying his ability to recollect what he had envisioned. The Kubla Khan poem is basically about the destruction of beauty or the destruction of the once beautifull images that were embedded into his dream and the business that detained him from writing a great masterpiece.

| Posted on 2008-11-03 | by a guest

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Prologue:
"On awakinging he appeared to himself to have a distinct recollection of the whole; and taking his pen, ink, and paper, instantly and eagerly wrote down the lines that are here preserved." The poet wrote down the things that he remembered from his dream, but was rudely interrupted by business destroying his ability to recollect what he had envisioned. The Kubla Khan poem is basically about the destruction of beauty or the destruction of the once beautifull images that were embedded into his dream and the business that detained him from writing a great masterpiece.

| Posted on 2008-11-03 | by a guest

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I think that The Great Katherine was correct in her descrption that this poem goes far beyond the constrainsts of nature, and us as humans. However, I think that Bradie D. Joan's explanation is the most relevant. She said that it was the opium that he had that caused him to see all of these things in his imagination, and through that he realized that life is so dear that it cannot be taken lightly.

| Posted on 2008-10-29 | by a guest

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I think that this poem is about Amanda Smith. How she is very sick and feel like she is dying, even though she really enjoys this class because we are in the computer lab. I also think that today was the best lunch yet because i had subway. Amanda also wants to know what you should take, medicine wise, for a cold.

| Posted on 2008-10-09 | by a guest

.: KK :.

The poem is clearly a very complex piece of literature which cannot be entirely described or explained within such a short space. However, the main themes of the poem, i believe, are as follows; beauty/power of nature, carelessness of mankind, the prejudging and selfish nature of mankind and the corruption of power. All of themes are woven into the poem with the use of serene and beautiful language which conjour up vast and powerful images. This type of method is one which was very popular amongst the Romantics.

| Posted on 2008-05-18 | by a guest

.: Meaning :.

Personally, i think there is very little deeper meaning to this poem. I believe it is simply a stream of consiesness in response to an opeom opium enduced dream. The simple fact that is unfinsihed due to someone coming to the door shows the almost lack of meaning to this poem. That said it is still a brilliant poem, its brilliance lies simply in people's ability to find their own individual meaning for this poem.

| Posted on 2008-05-17 | by a guest

.: Kubla Khan :.

Kubla Khan is a beautiful poem
but i don't think that it has anything to do with sexual activity
to me, it's about the imposibility of humanity living in a Utopia due to the fact that there is always someone wanting to take control. It is a corrupted place (because of the humans) and nature understands this, which casues it to demolish itself to rid the pettiness of the people.

| Posted on 2008-05-02 | by a guest

.: Meaning:: :.

I agree with the theory about how Kubla Khan is referring to Nature's Beauty. I think that the whole river thing is referring to a flood, and perhaps the war the ancestral voices are prophecizing might be saying nature is declaring war because of Humans' ignoring the natural beauty before them.
The Abyssinian maid may be referring to the fact we focus a lot on just how beautiful people are and forget nature, and her song might also be representing that music is something beautiful but sometimes overlooked as well. The lines after that might be saying we can build paradise with beauty like song and nature...and, drifting a bit, the whole Beware Beware thing could be about how we taint and corrupt beauty we have.
"Drunk the milk of paradise", in my opinion, does indeed have some reference to temptation...to gaining power?
I think in all the poem has to do with how we corrupt beauty with greed and lust for power thanks to easily tempted minds.
(Keep in mind, the above is NOT my opinion on the world or situations in real life itself or anything, just what I think the poem means. :) )

| Posted on 2008-04-30 | by a guest

.: nautre :.

I think it's about the terrifying and vengeful force of nature... and how man easily forgets this power. Mankind overlooks the beauty in nature and the ability it has to destroy all that man has spent generations building.

| Posted on 2008-04-29 | by a guest

.: sex? :.

This fragment (if we bevieve STC's story) is about poetry and the role of poetry in society : his flashing eyes/ his floating hair/ weave a circle about him thrice/ and close your eyes with holy dread...
The poet is inspired by the wildness of the scene and as one with knowledge and the godlike power to create, he is to be revered and feared.

| Posted on 2008-02-18 | by a guest

.: fantasy :.

coleridge he is a brillant writer espically when he was on the drugs and this poem is beautiful is meesy at the end when he a woke but still great but as for wat it means i think ...
the romantics were big on fantasy so serins/mermaids fit in to the poem kinda you have a a thing of such beauty calling her firey sprited man in to her with her seduction but after that i get a little stuck and refer back to thinking it as him refering to sex etc...

| Posted on 2008-02-11 | by a guest

.: the sex conation :.

coleridge he is a brillant writer espically when he was on the drugs and this poem is beautiful is meesy at the end when he a woke but still great but as fro wat it means i think ...
well yes the sex conitation works
as the river is the girl pure and inocent yet amazinly beautiful andd the man comes along and woes her and she loeses that inoccense and in the 18th century this would have been considered foolish and with no concerption there is the risk of pregnacy hint the caves and the ice they would have been looked down on not being married with a baster child.
that's the romantics for you over the top n reckless :)

| Posted on 2008-02-11 | by a guest

.: meaning :.

well i think that this poem is about a women giving birth to her child because a fountain was fored just like when a women is about to give birth and he is just dreaming about his beautiful wife and soon the baby comes and feeds on the milk of paradise.

| Posted on 2008-01-14 | by a guest

.: meaning :.

well i think that this poem is about a women giving birth to her child because a fountain was fored just like when a women is about to give birth and he is just dreaming about his beautiful wife and soon the baby comes and feeds on the milk of paradise.

| Posted on 2008-01-14 | by a guest

.: meaning :.

well i think that this poem is about a women giving birth to her child because a fountain was fored just like when a women is about to give birth and he is just dreaming about his beautiful wife and soon the baby comes and feeds on the milk of paradise.

| Posted on 2008-01-14 | by a guest

.: the sex analysis :.

in my opinion the sex analysis is the best.. becouse sex is a concept deepseated in human nature. So when the writer was unconscious one of his primary istinct was emerged.

| Posted on 2007-12-20 | by a guest

.: the sex analysis :.

in my opinion the sex analysis is the best.. becouse sex is a concept deepseated in human nature. So when the writer was unconscious one of his primary istinct was emerged.

| Posted on 2007-12-20 | by a guest

.: Kubla Khan :.

Obviously, there is more to this poem than just what is written on the surface. It's inevitably all up to interpretation, but you can pick out sexual imagery and imagery relating to a "holy" type of place. There is possibly a significant emphasis put on Adam and Eve -- "close your eyes with holy dread, For he on honey-dew hath fed, and drunk the milk of Paradise." There are many allusions to temptation and the fall of the kingdom or Paradise. The word Abyssinian -- "located in the Garden of Eden." So, you can't deny that there could be religious imagery thrown in throughout the poem.

As for the sexual imagery, of course that isn't hard to miss. "A mighty fountain momentarily was forced" -- referring to the climax, etc. Then comes the problem of the 'damsel with a dulcimer', where does she fit in with the sexual imagery? The only other answer could be that the poem is clearly describing masturbation. "A damsel with a dulcimer in a vision I once saw." It all pretty much fits.

But either way, it's up to interpretation - yet, these theories are all feasible and justified by the poem.

| Posted on 2007-11-13 | by a guest

.: Kubla Khan :.

Analysis:
I figured the poem is definately about war, which ties into the reason for the poet smoking drugs of this kind.

In china Opium was smoked before great battles.
Therefore my theory of the poem is that the writer sees that every army is fighting to see paradise, and yet paradise is right before their eyes (in nature).


Especially in the second stanza we can see how prominent religon is in the world and how that through differnt faiths we are killing off their sole objective (to discover paradise).

The repeated comparisson of sun/ice is the poets way of enthasising that the world appears perfect (sunny) but has hidden evil (caves of ice)

The deep description is all due to the writter smoking opium (before battle) and this gives the readers an insight to what possesses the men to fight over something, due to its increased beauty due to the drugs.

The poem closes with "he hath drank the mild of paradise" This could mean that although we are always out to seek utopia, we have already once experienced it.


| Posted on 2007-10-25 | by a guest

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This poem is about a place that was really beautiful and then became ugly to the narrators eye. Describing abou thow wonderful this place was, it was just great. But then this woman gets raped. And because of what happened there and the memories the place isn't beautiful anymore. The narrator can only see the ugly things about the place and bad things. It was beautiful and ugly/terrorising at the same time. And then it's about how the narrator could revive the beauty of this place if only he could remember how the girl who got raped was.

| Posted on 2007-09-11 | by a guest

.: Kubla Khan :.

This poem is metapoetry. It is poetry about poetry. It reflects Coleridge's desire to regain his former poetic glory expressed through the metaphor of Kubla Khan, the greatest man that ever lived. The Juxtaposition of Hot and Cold, Dark and Light, is representative of the duality of nature. Like Keats' 'ode to melancholy', one aspect is never truly appreciated without the other. You cannot appreciate light if you have not seen dark. In the Poem Coleridge compares himself to Kubla Khan, who understands the duality of nature. This self reflective aspect can be seen through "could i revive within me her symphony and song". All of this is reflective of Coleridge's Romantic ideals, finding God through contemplation of Nature. Coleridge is trying to regain his poetic skill because, like Kubla Khan understands duality, Coleridge can appreciate its worth because he has lost his skill. Ironically this is his best work.

| Posted on 2007-08-04 | by a guest

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Has anybody actually considered that maybe this poem is just detailing place, telling of the history of China in Inner Mongolia and the santuary he created to get out of the harsh summers sun? And this was such a perfect santuary because the caverns were so protective from the heat that there was even ice in there? Look through the poem, it isnt giving the philosophy of life, merely telling a story. One samual Taylor coloridge probably learnt about studying history at university of something. To prove my point that not all poem type things are written with a hidden meaning i will deconstruct another which may help you when analysing Kubla Kahn. Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow. Ok i know this isnt a poem but it proves my point, just see. ok now mary has a little lamb...but..a lamb is a sheep....and sheep follow the crowd...so mary is suffering from peer pressure....and the sheep is white...white symbolises innocence so perhaps mary is a virgin and she is suffering peer pressure...everywhere that mary went the lamb/peer pressure was sure to go. i know it seems a bit ridiculous, that was my point, do you really think the writer intended it to be about mary loosing her virginity? No it is about a girl owning a lamb. Just like this poem is just about a man building a paradise.

| Posted on 2007-07-06 | by a guest

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Has anybody actually considered that maybe this poem is just detailing place, telling of the history of China in Inner Mongolia and the santuary he created to get out of the harsh summers sun? And this was such a perfect santuary because the caverns were so protective from the heat that there was even ice in there? Look through the poem, it isnt giving the philosophy of life, merely telling a story. One samual Taylor coloridge probably learnt about studying history at university of something

| Posted on 2007-07-06 | by a guest

.: :.

Has anybody actually considered that maybe this poem is just detailing place, telling of the history of China in Inner Mongolia and the santuary he created to get out of the harsh summers sun? And this was such a perfect santuary because the caverns were so protective from the heat that there was even ice in there? Look through the poem, it isnt giving the philosophy of life, merely telling a story. One samual Taylor coloridge probably learnt about studying history at university of something

| Posted on 2007-07-06 | by a guest

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This poem has too many deep meanings:
1) Sex: pleasure dome = penis, chasm = vagina, fountain = sperm, caverns = fallopian tubes, etc.
2) Nature is greater than man: the caverns "measureless to man", and the fact that Kubla Khan, who is supposed to be mighty and powerful tries to capture this for himself, but nature kills it with the eruption and flooding of the Alph
3) The imagination: the pleasure dome could mean whatever one wants it to mean: to Kubla Khan it is a bright garden in paradise, to the poet it is the music the Abyssinian maid has played, some even say that the opium-induced high is the pleasure dome.

I think this would be much more clear if he'd finished this, but then again, Douglas Adams says that the world would be destroyed. Quite frankly, this is just too weird.

| Posted on 2007-06-28 | by a guest

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honestly, i didnt get the sex part of it:p my impressions were that coleridge paints two worlds with the poem. One, being the normal world, sort of like the garden of eden ('gardens bright') being 'girdled round' with walls- preserving and protecting the beauty and holiness (hence the religious 'incense-bearing tree' and 'sacred river' imagery). The holy imagery, along with the emphasis on alph and the 'caverns measureless to man' shows that this place was dedicated to god's creation.
But as we know, Colerige wasnt happy with religion and the way it was practiced and therefore introduced the next stanza showing us the taboo side of things- all in the same place, possibly implying that the boundaries between what was good and evil weren't as rigid as we thought. The way he describes the place, with the dramatic exclamation marks and the loud language is there to produce a stark contrast to the serene and suffocated place we first read about. Here he is being free and later on he says he wishes he could rebuild that place- telling us that he prefers it more. He talks about enchanting and haunting things- and still maintains the holy imagery (cedar trees were used to build Solomon's temple). This stanza could be talking about the creation of the earth, and could be associated with sex. but i dont really think of it as a metaphor for sex.
Three things are for certain. There was a Kubla Khan, and there was a Xanadu- and kubla did order an extravagant place to be built for him there. The pleasure dome could be a recreation of this and the taboo stanza could be nature reacting to man's interference trying to build something out of selfish reasons (cuz coleridge is all about nature and god, and man being the problem)when the place is devoted to God...or something. or it could just be the other world coleridge wants to portray in protest to society's depiction of religion that he so wishes he could be a part of....im so very confused. there are loads of meanings, but one must not get two contradicting ones tangled together, especially when one has their IG's the next day.

| Posted on 2007-05-22 | by a guest

.: :.

At first hes describing moments before having sex. down the hill is the savage place as holy as enchanted. 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, river = sperm??? and the cavern is o come on guys read the poem again looking for a sexual meaning , it makes sence , but the part where he starts talking about the dulcier , no idea.


| Posted on 2007-05-07 | by a guest