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Tomislav Sari
Professor Ljubica Matek
Survey of English Literature II
25 May 2015
Coleridges contrastive elements in Kubla Khan
It is said that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what does the beholder want
to say when describing that beauty? Samuel Taylor Coleridge did indeed write about beauty in
his own way. He belongs to the Romantic period of English literature. He is one of the most
famous English writers and literary critics. In this essay I will try to prove that Coleridge
intentionally uses strong contrastive elements in order to describe the exotic and distant Orient
in Kubla Khan.
The Preface to Kubla Khan serves precedes the poem itself. Coleridge explains the
event that led to creation of the poem. Opium-influenced, with his external senses sleeping, he
receives visions connected to the words of the same substance, in Purchass Pilgrimage:
Here the Kubla Khan commanded a palace to be built, and a stately garden thereunto. And
thus ten miles of fertile ground were inclosed with a wall. (Coleridge, 1) The purpose of the
preface is not overtly mentioned. Therefore, it can be observed as assistance for the reader not
accustomed to the background information and the authors very thoughts:
The introductory note guides our reading of the poem from start to finish. Without it,
most readers would interpret the poem as asserting the power and potential sublimity
of the poet, who can be compared to the great Khan. With the introductory note, this
assertion is still present, but it is strongly undercut; the poem becomes richer and more

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complex, and the theme of lost inspiration is much more heavily weighted. (Bloom,
41)
The most contrastive element of the Preface is that it is, though elaborate, subtitled: A
Fragment. The poem itself is not to be considered as a fragment, because it is a full and
complete unit with various stylistic elements, motifs and figures. However, the emphasis
should be put on the poem, because the Preface is only there to help the reader to comprehend
the poem in a deeper way. Before any other arguments are included, it should be mentioned
that Coleridges interpretation of the Orient is influenced by Purchas, and Purchass
interpretation of abovementioned Orient is dominantly influenced by Marco Polo.
The element of distance should be also taken into account. Coleridge intentionally
mentions the location of contemplating on Kubla Khan, because he wants to accentuate the
distance to the reader. The most obvious examples are these representing the most distant
lands. In his mind he goes all the way from a lonely farm-house between Porlock and
Linton (Coleridge, 1) to Xanadu / Where Alph, the sacred river, ran (Coleridge, 1,3,4)
From English Romantic point of view, Xanadu and Kubla Khans pleasure dome can be
regarded only as the Far East. Kubla Khan is a Mongolian leader, and Xanadu is a place in the
modern China. In second part of the poem, in the last eighteen lines, Coleridge introduces
another dimension of distance:
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora. (Coleridge, 38-43)

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This time, there is no word about Asia, and the names and landmarks mentioned refer to
Abyssinia, what is today known as Ethiopia and Eritrea. There are two continents covertly
mentioned in the poem, Asia and Africa, and the first one, Europe, is mentioned in the
Preface. It sums up to three continents three distinctive worlds, each one different from the
previous one. For instance, river Alph from the first part and Mount Abora from the second
part of the poem are quite opposite in shape and atmosphere.
When it comes to sublime, Coleridge was one of the most experienced Romantic
writers, maybe the very best of them. He uses sublime on all occasions, whenever possible.
Therefore, sublimity of landscape should be also mentioned, as if it bears another contrastive
element in the poem. Depicting the scenery beautiful, enchanting, alluring and enticing and
then making it scary and dangerous is something common for Coleridge. Furthermore, these
figurations and any similar figurations are simply Coleridges modus operandi, as it can be
seen in various places of the poem. Vallins explains his interest in landscapes:
Coleridges enthusiasm for landscapesand primarily, of course, for mountainous
onesis, in other words, essentially youthful in character.... In many cases, indeed,
Coleridge visits or explores mountainous regions literally as an aesthetic tourist, and
his descriptions of those landscapes are often attempts to achieve an almost pictorial
vividness and detail in recording his experiences. (Vallins, 36)
And such is the case in the Kubla Khan. There are gardens bright with sinuous rills / /
And here were forests ancient as the hills, / enfolding sunny spots of greenery. (Coleridge,
7,9,10) and next to it, only three lines later, the same place again, but now it turns into A
savage place! as holy and enchanted / As eer beneath a waning moon was haunted / By
woman wailing for her demon-lover! (Coleridge, 13-15) Such figurations, with such tone
and atmosphere, enrich the language and make land mentioned more attractive. However,

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Macmillan does not reach the contrastive element of the sublime. Bloom, on the other hand,
explains that contrastive element to some extent:
the essence which these splendid vistas half-conceal and half-reveal, is often implied in
Coleridges fascinated investigation of the emotional and intuitive significance of his aesthetic
experiences of landscape It will also come to have its limitations for him, and ultimately be
replaced by an exploration of the psychological and metaphysical truths underlying these
experiences. That this change should ultimately have occurred, indeed, is perhaps all the more
comprehensible in an author who so persistently emphasizes the importance of never
remaining satisfied with a single interpretation or conclusion, and especially of questioning
appearances and investigating their foundations. (Bloom, 37)
All elements taken into account, it is safe to say that Samuel Taylor Coleridge does
really use the various contrasts in Kubla Khan intentionally in order to describe the distant
and exotic Orient. First of all, contrast, even though not dominant, but still present, between
the Preface and the poem itself. It is to be perceived as an explanatory note, but the subtitle
Fragment is opposed to the completeness of the poem, and suggests that the author is
capable of even bigger literary exploits in the same manner. Second to it, there is a contrastive
element in the distances and in the way distant lands are introduced: There is an author in
England that reminiscences about a pleasure dome in Xanadu, in the Far East, and later
introduces Abyssinia, which is contrasted to both Xanadu and the hamlet in the English
countryside. Last but not least, there is the element of the sublime, a construct common to
Coleridge, where he aims to create beautiful, yet frightening scenes in the minds of the
readers. Finally, all those elements are compiled together with an elevated language, and as
Coleridge said: Language is the armory of the human mind; and at once contains the trophies
of its past and the weapons of its future conquests. (Said, 136)

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Works Cited
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Kubla Khan. n.p.<http.moodle.ffos.hr/>
Said, Edward. Orientalism. London: Penguin 1977. Web publication.
Bloom, Harold. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. New York: Infobase Publishing. 2010.
Web publication.
Vallins, David. Coleridges Writings On the Sublime Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 2001.
Web publication.