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Example research essay topic: Samuel Coleridge Kubla Khan And Materialism - 1,526 words

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... as the infection that eliminates it. The ambiguity of Coleridge's imagery's reference to the Garden of Eden is somewhat relieved by its recurrence. As he does here with an idea, Coleridge makes a point to repeat several of his images and allusions in the poem such as the sacred river and caverns measureless to man, sacred river seen again in it flung up momently the sacred river, and both seen again in through wood and dale the sacred river ran, / Then reached the caverns measureless to man, and the number five in five miles meandering with a mazy motion. This repetition (seen both in the traditional repeating of exact words and the more subtle repetition of an idea) is extremely characteristic of the romantic belief that repeating something again will allow the reader to understand it better. The fact that Coleridge believed these ideas were worth repeating allows the reader to know that they are extremely significant in the communication of his message.

Another important image in the poem is that of the dancing rocks that were huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail caused by the switch half-intermitted burst of the mighty fountain from the deep romantic chasm. This jovial personification of the rocks lightens the mood of the tumultuous occurrence. This is not a natural disaster; it is merely pleasurable nature at work. The power of this event should not be mistaken for violence; it is simply the pure strength of nature. The image of the dancing rocks allows the reader to understand this.

Coleridge ends Alpha journey as it sinks in tumult to a lifeless ocean. The significance of this image is not necessarily part of Coleridge's message, but it is an example of the romantic poets rebellion against science. Earlier, Coleridge called this same lifeless ocean a sunless sea. He completely disregards the difference between an ocean and a sea by using the words interchangeably. This is because from one mans perspective, an ocean and a sea are the same thing, especially in the lifeless dark. Coleridge places an emphasis on the creation of a vivid visual image rather than scientific accuracy.

The surety of the destruction of this paradise is solidified with the lines and mid this tumult Kubla heard from far / Ancestral voices prophesying war! It is significant that Coleridge only alludes to this eventual fate rather than actually showing it, as his deep appreciation of the paradise cannot allow him to depict such a horrible event. The line break before the prophecy and the caesura after it serve to almost allow the reader to come to terms with this disgusting fate. Khan brought materialistic greed to this paradise and because of that, it is doomed to war as more humans vie for its control. The domes influence in this matter is seen as the shadow of the dome of pleasure / [Floats] midway on the waves. Shadows, traditionally and here, are representative of the presence of evil.

In the words of Juergen Matthias Schroeder, the shadow is the material manifestation of too great human ambition or aspiration (Coleridge: KUBLA KHAN or A VISION IN A DREAM ANALYSIS by JM Schroeder). The ominous evil shadow (which also proves the dome to be material) is covering the greatness of Alpheus, and is soon to be responsible for its destruction. It was a miracle of rare device, / A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice. The miracle was not the pleasure dome. The miracle was the land to which it is going to bring destruction. The line break after it was a miracle of rare device pauses as if to give hope to the reader that the narrator would understand the greatness of this paradise that was, only to let them down with the next line showing that perhaps mankind will never understand the effects of their materialistic ambition and greed.

After these lines, there is an abrupt shift in the poem. As the topic shifts from Khans pleasure dome to a different one (after one last view of Khans), as does the narrator. This first person narration is from the point of view of a visionary man who entertains the possibility of being able to create the pleasure dome in his mind. He describes his vision of a damsel with a dulcimer and desires to use the memory of this to build that dome in air, thus achieving pure pleasure. This method is Coleridge's ideal and directly contrasts that of Khan. Khan tries to materialistically control an existing paradise by building his pleasure dome there while the second narrator uses true enlightenment to manifest it in his imagination.

The narrator of this section is representative of all visionaries, but its most likely that it is Coleridge himself (this from the fact that Coleridge himself said the whole poem was an opium-induced vision, associating him with visions). Thus, this first person point of view makes everything the narrator considers part of Coleridge's ideal (the common problem of an unreliable narrator is mostly eliminated when the author himself narrates). This positive attitude toward paradise through imagination is reinforced with several subtle allusions in the vision of the damsel. He speaks of the Abyssinian maid singing of Mount About. Mouth Amara of Ethiopia (also called Abyssinia) is a mythical paradise of John Milton's Paradise Lost. The significance here is the title of the work Paradise Lost.

This is saying that vision he wishes to revive within him was that of paradise. Abyssinia is also occasionally sited as the location of the Garden of Eden. These allusions allow the reader to know that what the narrator experienced was not simply a beautiful face, it was a true paradise. The fact that the damsel was Abyssinian is also significant because Abyssinians were thought to be the essence of beauty in ancient Egypt, thus intensifying the pleasure of the experience of her beautiful symphony and song. Coleridge's diction in the narrators decision to build that dome in air (in his choice of the word air) allows the reader to know that this dome is nothing like the one built by Kubla Khan.

It is founded on emotional exuberance and in imagination rather than on materialistic greed. Air implies that the dome is not concrete and is separate from the physicality of the earth. The narrator then begins to examine the possible response to his achievement. Again, mankind's ignorance is seen. The people react by [weaving] a circle round him thrice, an ancient Christian ritual that will seal away an evil force.

This is tied further to Christianity with the number three, an allusion to the Holy Trinity. Coleridge is exposing Christianity's superstitious ungratefulness, close-mindedness, and inability to accept pleasure. The narrator is offering them the experience of pure pleasure and they react hostilely, rejecting his gift and immediately trying to distance themselves from his enlightenment. Their disapproval of pleasure is also seen in their negative approach to the gustatory translation of the narrators experience: and close your eyes with holy dread / For he on honey-dew hath fed, / And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Coleridge's vivid sensory language allows the reader to enjoy the rather pleasurable gustatory experience while the Christian reaction vilifies it. His diction in the word dread is significant because it contains both the meaning of to hold in awe and to react with terror. This emphasizes the hypocrisy of the Christian reaction as they realize the significance of what the narrator is offering, and yet still choose to renounce it. With these last lines, Coleridge offers little hope that Christianity (or even mankind in general) will ever be able to accept the complete pleasure offered by an emotional paradise. Kubla Khan is the height of ambiguity in poetry. Every new perspective seems to add something worthwhile to the interpretation of the poem.

Not only is its meaning veiled in uncertainty, the literal occurrences in the poem are also unclear. Just as some view the poem as an exploration of the essence of paradise while others view it as a statement against materialism, some see Kubla Khans dome as being submerged by water and others see it left perfectly fine but doomed in the future. However, this should not be attributed to poor writing by Coleridge but rather to his genius. The poem is so overflowing with meaning and images that people cannot help but take something personal from it. Coleridge's Kubla Khan is not simply a musical masterpiece or a vivid experience; it is full of meaningful ideas: All of the ones people believe and yet at the same time none of them at all. There must be willing suspension of disbelief by the reader as they overlook minor inconsistencies to see the true genius of his work.

However, if you do not see this genius, just blame it on the Man from Pollock. Works Cited: McKay, John P. A History of Western Society. 7 th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. 766. Schroeder, Juergen M.

Coleridge: KUBLA KHAN or A VISION IN A DREAM ANALYSIS by JM Schroeder. 7 Jan. 2002. 27 Mar. 2005 < web >.


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Research essay sample on Samuel Coleridge Kubla Khan And Materialism

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