Kubla Khan Plot Mood Language Imagery

"Kubla Khan: or a Vision in a Dream" is a poem that describes to us another world. It places us in the middle of a strange and wondrous setting. He describes his world in a vivid and epic manner, making it appear as ancient verse, perhaps descended from an oral legend. His use of metaphor, simile, and language all give a better view of his world by establishing the mood of the poem, each line bringing the world further to life. The first five lines immediately gives us the basic core of the poem: both in plot, mood, and language. By conveying his imagination by using language, the vocabulary used by Coleridge is of great importance. The vocabulary used throughout the poem helps convey these themes in images to the reader. The strangeness of such words as 'Xanadu' and 'pleasure-dome' are very effective in placing us in a setting that is very different from any we normally know.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

English: Title page of the 1816 collection of poem...

English: First page of "Preface" to Kubla Khan.

We are also given a feeling of wondrous and epic things.

Coleridge depicts a powerful character who "did ... a stately pleasure dome decree". The fact that Kubla Khan is able merely to decree a pleasure-dome and know that his orders will be executed implies that he is a character of both strong will and great power. The Khan decrees that a pleasure-dome be built and his order is immediately executed: 'So twice five miles of fertile ground/ With walls and towers were girdled round'.

Imagery is also important for Coleridge to convey his imagination to the reader. There are images of paradise throughout the poem that are combined with references to darker, more evil places. On example of this is the 'demon lover' that has bewitched the woman. Coleridge's image of the 'dome of pleasure' is mystical, contradicting the...