His poem "Kubla Khan" is no exception, but I enjoy mystery and intrigue, so I wanted to attempt it. In this poem, Coleridge is trying to convey how important it is not to develop land for your own "pleasure-dome" (line 2). Even though Kubla Khan develops the land in Xanadu with "gardens bright with sinuous rills" (line 8) and the land had "folding sunny spots of greenery" (line 11), the caverns underground are filled with chasms and a "woman wailing for her demon-lover" (line 16). When Kubla Khan disturbs the land, 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." (lines 19-24).
This poem can relate to a lot of things in life including not developing or disturbing land for frivolous reasons. It also can relate to a more general idea of not fixing something that is not broken. These are both important to remember as we go through our lives and interact with the world around us and all the living things in it.
2 comments:
Rachel,
Good attempt at interpreting this immensely complex and challenging poem. I like the way you quote a longer passage towards the end of your post--that is a much more effective strategy than the numerous short phrases you quoted before, and gives more of a context for discussion. I would like to see you go further in your discussion, though, of particular passages. As a rule of thumb, your analysis of a quotation ought to be at least as long as the passage itself (or else the quotation can look like mere padding for your post.
Rachel,
Good post! I thought that maybe it was a reference to the fact that things appear one way on the surface, but there is chaos underneath. For example, when references are made to the duck who looks like its effortlessly floating, but paddling vigorously underneath the water. I'll have to re-read this one.
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