In the first stanza of this poem a "pleasure dome" is described. In this first stanza there is no mention of the turmoil or wrenching work that could be associated with creating such a place. This comes later. In this first stanza Coleridge is mainly concerned with the existence of the dome itself.

Through caverns measureless to man

This pleasure dome exists in Xanadu which gives the reader a sense that it is not in a real place. It is necessary to understand the rest of the poem in order to fully grasp these lines. In understanding the rest of the poem it becomes evident that these lines suggests that this paradise was born from a vision, or po

This last line carries many sexual connotations and the experience can also be used to reiterate the ostracism that Coleridge fears he will encounter in society. He is no longer a virgin to the pleasures of pure, inspired thought. But, he feels that majority of society is. Because they don't know about the pleasures of thoughts, they are afraid of it and therefore will ostracize him for having these thoughts. In combining his questioning of his own abilities to write about the dome, and in addressing the reaction of the people to his poem, Coleridge is quite distraught.

It flung up momently the sacred river.

In these lines the river passes the "caverns measureless to man", then "sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean". In the first paragraph the river went on to "fertile ground" after passing these caverns, which is very different from the "lifeless ocean". The river (inspired thought) is now losing momentum and dying. "Ancestral voices prophesying war" is a definite allusion to doom. Coleridge's thoughts are doomed. Passion is being replaced by war, or failure. The last lines in the second stanza state "It was a miracle of rare device, / A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice!" "Caves of ice" are forming on the pleasure dome.

And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

Some common words found in the essay are:
Kubla Khan, Nature Nature's, Beware Beware, Abora Revive, Samuel Coleridge, Nature Romantic, pleasure dome, poem progresses, fertile ground, sacred river, caves ice, caverns measureless, sunless sea, stanza poem, rest poem, own mind, wailing demon lover, dome caves ice, woman wailing demon, vaulted rebounding hail, drunk milk paradise,
Approximate Word count = 2768
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)