ENG308Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Kubla Khan, Christian Vision
Kubla&Khan&(pg.&459)
Context
•
Potential&of&nature
•
Nature&as&it&meets&the&mind
•
A&human&mind&which&recognises&its&own&continuity&over&time
○
A&mind&in&which&he&does&represent&himself&as&maturing,&evolving
○
Recognising&the&stable-rootedness&in&which&he&can&understand&a&
coherence&to&the&narrative&of&his&life
○
Same&human&being&part&of&a&coherent&pattern,&who&did¬&always&have&
this&critical& distance
•
But&what&if&nature&doesn't&meet&us&half-way&(Dejection&Ode)
○
We&receive&but&what&we&give
○
He&is&able&to&extend&his&imagination
○
Final&stanza&-the&wind&bestows&images&of&horror&on&nature
○
Mind&peopled&with&demons
Preface
•
Coleridge's&addiction&to&opium
○
He&had&been&taking&something&that&had&been&prescribed,&an&anadigm
○
And&reading&the&words&from&Purchas's)Pilgrimage
•
He&falls&asleep&as&he's&reading&about&the&stately&pleasure&dome
○
He&fabulously&has&a&vision&in&a&dream
○
He&starts&writing&a&poem&when&he&awakes&of&300-400&lines
○
He&is&interrupted&and&called&out&on&business
○
He&had&to&talk&to&him&for&an&hour&
○
And&when&he&returns&there&are&only&8&or&10&scattered&lines&and&images&
left&in&his&brain
•
Context&of&interruption
○
Imaginative&vision&undermined&by&being&brought&down&to&Earth
○
Transcended&the&normative&context&of&time&and&space
○
Knock&on&the&door&is&one&which&places&him&in&the&world,¬&of&poetry,&
but&of&the&every&day
•
The&dream&itself&is&encountered&in&sleep
○
He&is&reading&about&the&great&pleasure&dome&and&the&architectural&
magnificence&of&the&structure
○And&he&dreamt&of&it
•The&splendid&vision&itself&is&an&interruption&of&the&experience& of&the&creation
○And&then&the&poem&interrupts&the&vision
○And&then&the&poem&is&interrupted&by&the&knock&
Poem
•We&are&in&an&evocation&of&risk&of&splendour
•Pastoral&fantasy&of&the&pleasure-dome
•Spaces&that&eventually&give&on&to&a&horizon
○A&greater&expansive&vision&of&the&real&empirical&world&which&he&can&
animate&with&the&responsiveness&of&his&mind
•Envisions&himself&imagining
○Can't&separate&the&description&from&the&context&of&Coleridge&describing&
his&vision&in&a&dream
•Resistance&to&the&visionary
○This&is&just&the&merest&fragment
•He&encloses&ten&miles
○But&the&before&and&after&is&mysterious
•He&offers&a&poetic&challenge&to&the&architectural&splendour&of&Kubla&Khan
•We&are&running&from&the&implications&of&our&visions
•Direct&engagement&with&Wordsworth
○Mirroring&the&banks&of&the&river&Wye&from&Tintern&Abbey&(line&24)
•Assertion&of&imaginative&power&introduced¶doxically&in&the&context&of&
privations&of&imaginative&capacity
•Always&a&threat&to&our&gardens&of&transcendental¶dise
○Ancestral&voices&prophesying&war&(30)
○Threat&of&war
○Enclosed&wall&representing&escapism,&imagination
○But&this&is&always&under&threat
•The&external& world&is¬&necessarily&nature&meeting&us&halfway
○Ancestral&voices&are&interrupting&our&splendid&visions
•He&will&build&something&lasting,&though&in&the&air,&which&is¬&enclosed&in&
time&and&space
○He&would&if&only&he&could&revive&the&song&of&the&damsel&with&a&dulcimer&
from&his&vision
•He&chose&Xanadu&because&it&is&less&resonant&of&religious&sanctity&for&him
○It&is¬&a&religious&Christian&dome
•Coleridge&unable&to&ground&himself&in&a&here&and&now
○He's&longing&for&poetic&transcendence&of&the&temporal&world
•The&vision&that&he&has&is&a&vision&of&a¶dise
○Retreats&from&a&Christian&vision
§(from&his&wife's&role&of&scold)
Lecture'14
Wednesday,& November& 9,&2016
11:18&AM
Document Summary
Context: potential of nature, nature as it meets the mind, a human mind which recognises its own continuity over time. A mind in which he does represent himself as maturing, evolving. Recognising the stable-rootedness in which he can understand a coherence to the narrative of his life. Same human being part of a coherent pattern, who did not always have this critical distance: but what if nature doesn"t meet us half-way (dejection ode) He is able to extend his imagination. Final stanza - the wind bestows images of horror on nature. He had been taking something that had been prescribed, an anadigm. And reading the words from purchas"s pilgrimage: he falls asleep as he"s reading about the stately pleasure dome. He fabulously has a vision in a dream. He starts writing a poem when he awakes of 300-400 lines. He is interrupted and called out on business. He had to talk to him for an hour.
