1a. Where is Kubla Khan's pleasure dome? How large an area of land does it cover?
2a. How is the "chasm" described in the second stanza? What issues out of the chasm?
3a. Whom did the speaker once see in a vision? What was she doing?
4a. "Kubla Kahn" is frequently interpreted as a poem about the act of poetic or artistic creation. The central image of the first stanza is a river, a traditional symbol for the source of life or the source of creative inspiration. Analyze the images used in the poem, and identify those which support this interpretation.
5a. Coleridge calls this poem "a vision in a dream." Does it seem like a dream to you? Which images are most dreamlike? How does the progression of the poem compare to that of a dream?
1b. What is the mood created in the first stanza by the description of the garden?
2b. What is happening in the second stanza? How does that scene compare to the scene of the first stanza?
3b. What would happen, according to the speaker, if he were able to revive within himself the maid's song?
4b. If "Kubla Kahn" is about artistic creation, how does Coleridge seem to feel about the creative process? What indications do we have, in this poem, of the emotions it arouses in him and in those who might observe him?
5b. Throughout history, many artists have also spoken of having visions or dreams, or being caught up in trances in which their creative imaginations were freed of inhibitions and their best creative work was possible. Many of us find our dreams to be sources of vivid imagery and creative insights. How does this identification of the dream state as a creative source fit the Romantic ideals you read about in the introduction to this unit?
Alliteration. Review the definition for alliteration in Literary Tools. What other examples of alliteration can you find in the selection? How does the alliteration contribute to the mood of the poem?
Image. Reread "Kubla Khan" and complete the following graphic organizer noting the images of opposites. One is completed for you.
2c.
Coleridge said that imagination "reveals itself in the balance or reconciliation of opposite or discordant qualities." What do you think Coleridge's use of images of opposites indicates about the theme of this poem?
1. If the pleasure dome were a real place, it would be a wonder to see. Write a travel brochure designed to entice tourists to visit Kubla Kahn's paradise.
2. Recall a particularly vivid dream you have had and write a dream report. What happened in your dream? Describe the images you experienced and the sometimes inexplicable path of your dream. Did it have a definite ending, or did it simply break off? What did it mean to you?
3. Coleridge wrote that "Kubla Khan" was only a fragment and that he was unable to finish the poem because he was interrupted in the middle of transcribing it after his dream. Although you cannot know what Coleridge would have written if he had continued, you can use your imagination to come up with an extension of the poem. Write your continuation in verse or in prose.
Computer-Assisted Research. Read the Language Arts Survey 5.26, "Using the Internet." Then do some research on Kubla Khan and answer the following questions.
1. When did Kubla Khan live?
2. Where was Kubla Khan's empire?
3. How large was Kubla Khan's empire?
4. Who were the people ruled by Kubla Khan?
5. What other nations or people did Kubla Khan conquer during his reign?
Creation Myths. Using library resources as well as local religious institutions, research the creation stories of two or more religions and compare them. How are they similar and how are they different?
Research Findings:
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