It is believed that "Kubla Khan" was created by Coleridge when he was in a deep sleep that was induced by the use of opiates which were prescribed for dysentery. He fell asleep while reading Purcha's Pilgrimage about building of Kubla Khan's palace and garden. When he woke up from experiencing the dream in which he created the poem he began writing it down. He was part way through writing the poem and was interrupted by a person from the nearby town of Porlock. After this interruption he was unable to complete the poem because his access to the dr

"Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge reveals the awesome power of the imaginative poetic mind. This poetic mind has the ability to create kingdoms, paradise, immortality, and the sacred. This poem reveals the terrifying magnificence of the visions of imagination and the impact of these visions amongst humanity.

The third stanza changes to perspective of the first person narrative. The speaker is meditating upon "a damsel with a dulcimer" in a vision he saw. In this vision he "once" saw but can see no longer, the woman was singing of Mount Abora. Mount Abora is from Milton's Paradise lost and is a mythical heaven. This woman is described as Abyssinian. Abyssinian literally refers to the inhabitants of a place in Northern Africa, but use of word "Abyssinian" also implies the word "abyss". The speaker must revive the heavenly song, sung by the maid, inside himself to "build that dome in the air." Just as the sacred river from the abyss makes possible of the creation of Kubla, the heavenly song of the Abyssinian makes possible the creation of the speaker's "pleasure dome". The speaker then speculates on reaction of people over his creation. He states that "all should cry, Beware, Beware!/ His flashing eyes his floating hair/Weave a Circle round him thrice/ And close your eyes with holy dread,". The reaction of awe and terror that people have to the speaker's heavenly vision demonstrates the power that the speaker feels is contained in that vision.

The poem begins with a mythical tone, "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/ A stately pleasure dome decree." The poem does not give specifics to nature of the construction of the palace. It just states that Khan decreed the palace be built and then begins describing the palace. The poem's method of creating a vision of the "pleasure dome" is similar to the b

Some common words found in the essay are:
Kubla Khan, Kubla Khan's, Taylor Coleridge, Northern Africa, Kubla Khan/, Beware Beware/, pleasure dome, Eden Eden, kubla khan, Milton's Paradise, Abyssinian Abyssinian, sacred river, poetic mind, kubla khan's, Purcha's Pilgrimage, mind ability create, palace built, created kubla, mind ability, khan's palace, narrative speaker, stately pleasure dome, kubla khan's palace, created kubla khan, river pleasure dome,
Approximate Word count = 1228
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)