Kubla Khan

Among Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s most notable works of poetry, “Kubla Khan” imprinted itself in literary history with its rhythmic, sonorous opening lines. Upon publishing the poem in 1816, Coleridge made much of this poem’s unusual creation, as it sprang from his dreams and was never finished. Coleridge subtitled the poem, “Or, a vision in a dream. A fragment.”

The poem centers on Kubla Khan, a historical Chinese ruler, and his opulent palace in the magical world of Xanadu. After depicting the glories and mysteries of Xanadu, the poem concludes with a stanza about the mysteries of creativity. Critics have long debated the poem’s deeper meaning, but many agree that it exemplifies some of Romanticism’s favorite themes. This movement, anchored by poets like John Keats and Coleridge’s friend William Wordsworth, prized poetry about imagination, the individual, emotion, and nature. “Kubla Khan” explores these themes through vivid imagery and mesmeric sound devices, cementing Coleridge’s place of honor in this important literary period. 

Poet Biography

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) helped found the Romantic movement, which is among the briefest but most important periods in the history of the English language.