Coleridge’s
inspiration for Kubla Khan came from
a dream he had while experiencing an opium trip. He was interrupted while
writing down his dream and was unable to finish the poem. The fragmented and
disconnected nature of the poem makes it obvious that Kubla Khan in unfinished. The first stanza introduces Kubla Khan’s
“pleasure-dome” (2) in Xanadu. Then in the second stanza Coleridge presents the
“deep romantic chasm which slanted/Down the green hill” (12-13). The second
stanza is filled with highly sexual undertones. “Romantic” is a strange word to
use to describe a gorge in the earth. Earth’s “fast thick pants” are also
extremely suggestive. After this the third and fourth stanzas returns to the
“dome of pleasure” (31), then abruptly introduces an exotic maid playing a
dulcimer in the dome. The poem is all over the place, which makes it no
surprise that Coleridge was on drugs when he wrote it.
The
fragmented and unfinished nature of the poem is in tension with the recurring
circular imagery. Circles are traditionally considered symbols of completeness
and wholeness, yet Coleridge’s poem is left incomplete. On several occasions
different circle images are mentioned in the poem. In the second line of the
poem the speaker introduces a “pleasure-dome,” the first circle image in the
poem. The speaker then goes onto describe the landscape where the walls and
towers were “girdled round” (7). Lastly in line 51 the speaker wants to “weave
a circle round him thrice” to protect himself from intrusions. The recurring
circles symbolism is at odds with the fact that the poem is so blatantly
incomplete. The recurring circles suggest that Coleridge is aware of it’s incompleteness
and subconsciously, or consciously, yearns to complete his poem of his vision
of Kubla Khan’s pleasure-dome.
I find your evocation of the circular imagery in "Kubla Khan" to be a fascinating insight, because I believe the poem itself represents a "circle." I don't find it odd that the poem is unfinished, because it forms a sort of Möbius strip. For instance, the poem begins with a description of "Kubla Khan" and ends with the speaker saying "I would build that dome in air" (46). Therefore, he begins construction of the "dome" in his poem before he states he is to do so. The poem therefore can be read in an endless loop, with the ending connected to the beginning. I find that this makes the poem's imagery even more dream-like, because in the poem just as in dreams there is no defined beginning or end.
ReplyDelete