Kubla Khan Essay, Research Paper

A wise man once said, Nature in all its glory can be the deliverer of life or the destroyer of all that is good. In the poem Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, nature takes up a major portion of the poem as Coleridge described the dream world of Khan. This poem reveals the romantic elements of nature, championing the individual and freely expressed emotion.

Nature is a dominating element in this intriguing poem. Khan was a savage Mongolian ruler who enjoyed chaos. This chaos plays a major part of Khan s dream world. He puts trees, volcanoes, and rivers along with many other aspects of nature. One example of nature is and there were gardens bright with sinvons rills. This quote refers to the beautiful flowers and the winding streams. This image is not something you would think to come from a savage. Another example is this, Down the green hill athwart a cedar cove! A savage place! These two lines refer to a savage place across from a grove of cedar trees. This shows that Khan is not a totally savage man, but he does enjoy it. This poem is filled with many instances of nature and I have only named a few. Without he aspect of nature in this poem, it would be a much weaker poem. Nature is not the only literary aspect in this poem.

Another literary aspect of this poem is championing the individual. This deals with Khan believing that he is omnipotent and all controlling. Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding Hail, refers to a volcano erupting. Why would someone put a volcano among this perfect city? The only type of person I think would do this is someone who thought they could control it. As we all know there is no way to control a volcano as well as other aspects of nature. And mid this tumult Kubla heard from far Ancestral voices prophesying war. I believe this quote is speaking of the great battles his ancestors won and the great battle Khan will win. If he believes he is omnipotent, then there is no reason why he should believe that he would be defeated in war. He is a cocky and insane man, in my option.

The third and final literary aspect in this poem is freely expressed emotions. I believe that Khan had no shame in his emotions. Could I revive within me her symphony and song, to such a delight twould win me. These lines are talking of Khan wanting to settle down with this mysterious woman and become a new man. The poem takes a strange direction after this. Before he was describing a city and now he is speaking of a strange woman. Khan is so excited he built that dome in air, That sunny dome! I think Khan is getting excited as a little kid getting a new toy. This poem expresses many sides of Kubla Khan and you are left with a feeling of uncertainty of who he really is, and this is the reason the poem is so interesting.

Nature can be a man s best friend or his worst enemy. It can bring you fortune or cost you a fortune. Although nature is not the only element in the poem I feel that is the cornerstone.