IEB English poetry notes

Kelli
Frew
and
Amy
McLean-­‐Banks

Poetry
Summary
Notes

English
2019


Kubla
Khan


By
Samuel
Taylor
Coleridge
–
romantics
(celebrated
power
of
imagination/
soul
of
individual)



Title


-­‐   A
vision
in
a
dream

-­‐   A
fragment



General


-­‐   No
clear
rhyme
scheme


o   Rhyme
is
there
but
is
not
consistent



-­‐   Iambic
tetrameter
(trochaic)

-­‐   Mystic


o   Mystic
is
a
person
who
practices
mysticism

o   or
a
reference
to
a


§   mystery

§
mystic
craft


§   the
occult

-­‐   Paragraph
1

o   Nature
seen
as
ecstasy


o   Imagination
is
present

o   Enters
mystical
world


-­‐   Paragraph
2

o   BUT
–
imagination
is
leaving/
becomes
absent


o   Emotions
of
unspeakable
reality


o   When
reality
happens


§   Imagination
leaves
and
becomes
shadow
of
the
past
à
“lifeless”
“sunless”

o   Faster
and
more
agitated


-­‐   Paragraph
3

o   Poet
searching
for
imaginations


o   Trying
to
retrieve
the
imagination
if
him



§   Frustration


o   Poet
longs
for
“sunny
dome”
and
“caves
of
ice”

o   Poet
predicts
that
without
imagination


§   The
world
will
end


-­‐   Intention


o   Integration
of
the
power
of
imagination
which
erupts
from
creativity


-­‐   Senses
poem


o   Appeals
to
5
senses


-­‐   Lots
of
water
imagery


-­‐   Imagination
can
be
both
good
and
bad




Vocabulary


-­‐   Xanadu
(1)

o   Kubla
Khan’s
summer
palace


-­‐   Decree
(2)

o   Official
order/
proclamation


-­‐   Stately
(2)

o
dignified
and
grand



-­‐   Sacred
(3)

o   Holy

o   river
that
has
been
imbued
with
some
sort
of
significance


1


,Kelli
Frew
and
Amy
McLean-­‐Banks

Poetry
Summary
Notes

English
2019

-­‐   Caverns
(4)

o   Caves

o   tunnelling
through
the
rocks

-­‐   Rills
(8)

o
streams

-­‐   Sinuous
(8)

o
Curving

o   rounding

-­‐   Ancient
(10)

o   holiness


-­‐   Enfold
(11)

o   wrap
around


o   protect


o   embrace


o   sense
of
protection
and
safety


-­‐   Chasm
(12)

o   deep
valley


o   gully

-­‐   Cedarn
(13)

o   a
type
of
tree
which
has
a
beautiful
smell


-­‐   Chasm
(17)

o   deep
hole

-­‐   Ceaseless
(17)

o   never
stops


-­‐   Turmoil
(17)

o   chaos


o   stormy

-­‐   Seething
(17)

o   bubbling
under
pressure


o   coursing

-­‐   Swift
(20)

o   fast
/
quickly


-­‐   Intermittent
(20)

o
coming
again
and
going


-­‐   mazy
(25)

o   maze
like

-­‐   Dale
(26)

o   valley


-­‐   Tumult
(28)

o
Loud

o   confused
sound

-­‐   Measure
(33)

o   another
word
for
the
bar
of
music


-­‐   Dulcimer
(37)

o
archaic
music
instrument

-­‐   Abyssinian
(39)

o
Ethiopia



-­‐   Mount
Abora
(41)

o   Abyssinian

o   holy
place
where
paradise
was
found


§   according
to
legend

-­‐   Dread
(52)

o   idea
to
be
full
of
fear
but
you
are
frightened
of
the
wonder
that
you
are
feeling/
seeing




2


, Kelli
Frew
and
Amy
McLean-­‐Banks

Poetry
Summary
Notes

English
2019

LINE
MEANING

FIGURES
OF
SPEECH/
DICTION

OTHER


IMAGERY

In
Xanadu
did
Kubla
Khan
(





A
)

A
stately
pleasure-­‐dome
Summer
palace
Decree
at
end
of
line
à



decree:
(
B
)


emphasizes
gets
place


Kubla
Khan
said
that
the
on
order
and
authority

summer
palace
was
to
be
of
Kubla
Khan

built
in
Xanadu

Where
Alph,
the
sacred
Describing
–
river
Enjambement
à


Commas
à


river,
ran
(
A
)


image
of
river
flowing

noun
and


and
the
movement
of
apparition:


the
rhythm
alph
and
the
river


are
both
the

Alliteration
of
the
r
à
same
noun

Rolling


continuous
sound

lines
all
about
the
river

Through
caverns

Alliteration
of
the
m
à
Measureless
à



measureless
to
man
(
A
)
soft,
continuous
Enormous


infinite;
cannot
be


talking
about
caverns
measured
by

that
are
infinite
human

cannot
be
contained
or


defined

Down
to
a
sunless
sea.
(
B
Seems
to
suggest
this
is
Alliteration
of
s
à
Sunless
sea
à


)


constant
silence
and
river
still
tunnelling


disappearing
into
the
through
the
earth

River
disappears
once
it
gets
sea
see
does
not

into
the
sea
no
glimmer
of
sunlight
have
brightness:






light
and
variety












Sea
swallows
the
river


of
life
on
land


So
twice
five
miles
of
Lushness,
life
giving




fertile
ground
(
C
)



Fertile



Twice
five
miles
à

very
large


With
walls
and
towers
Walls
and
towers
wrap




were
girdled
round;
(
C
)
around
fertile
ground
and


gardens



Pleasure
dome
land
contains

and
protects
both
natural

and
man-­‐made
wonders.

And
there
were
gardens
Gardens
–
colourful




bright
with
sinuous
rills,
(


D
)

Sensuous
description
à

something
that
appeals
to
all

the
senses




Garden
bright
à

colour





3


, Kelli
Frew
and
Amy
McLean-­‐Banks

Poetry
Summary
Notes

English
2019

Where
blossomed
many


“Incense-­‐bearing


an
incense-­‐bearing
tree;
(
tree”
à


B
)
smell



exotic
/
holy


And
here
were
forests

She’s
as
old
as
the
hills



ancient
as
the
hills,
(
D
)
à

idiomatic

expression
(figurative

and
sometimes
literal

meaning
–

exaggeration)

Enfolding
sunny
spots
of


Enfold
à


greenery.
(
B
)

wrap
around

protect


embrace


sense
of

protection
and

safety


But
oh!
that
deep

chasm
à
gorge/
Romantic
à


romantic
chasm
which
canyon
sublime


slanted
awe
inspiring


Down
the
green
hill


Cedarn
à


athwart
a
cedarn
cover!
a
type
of
tree

which
has
a

beautiful
smell




A
savage
place!
as
holy
First
time
the
word
holy
is

Savage
à


and
enchanted
used

wild
and



uninhabited




Enchanted
à

magical


As
e’er
beneath
a
waning


Waning
moon
à


moon
was
haunted
after
the
full

moon
when
the

moon
is

becoming

smaller










By
woman
wailing
for
her
Other
worldly
place
Simile
à
Loneliness
à


demon-­‐lover!
comparing
a
holy
and
impress


enchanted
romantic
strangeness


chasm
to
a
place
that
is


haunted
by
woman

wailing
for
her
demon-­‐
lover
under
a
wailing

moon.


And
from
this
chasm,
with





ceaseless
turmoil

seething,


4