1. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE 1772-1834 Romantic lyrical poet; philosopher; Shakespearian critic Lyrical Ballads, written with Wordsworth, officially started the Romantic movement Pantisocracy plans (communal living) 1795-loveless marriage Great friends with the Wordsworths (until falling in love with Dorothy’s sister and other problems; 1810ish)

2. Rheumatism and neuralgia lead to opium addiction and suicidal tendencies; thought to be bipolar Frequently dependant (financially; artistically; addictive) Later worshipped by new crop of Romantics, but barely left home

3. “Kubla Khan” 1797 Supposedly inspired by opium-induced dream as he fell asleep reading of Kublai Khan’s Xanadu and the travels of Marco Polo Claims to have awakened with 300+ verses of poetry…the “visitor from Porlock” showed up at line 30… Also titled “A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment” Genre: a dream poem; often called an anti- poem due to its lack of structure and confusing nature

4. Themes, Symbols, and Structure Obstruction of genius and frustrated vision (creative block) The poem itself as an unbuilt monument of the imagination Both savage and holy The visitor or person from Porlock-interrupted creativity The damsel-his Muse or inspiration Fragmented structure and staggered rhyme scheme a reflection of Coleridge's mentality

5. MUST be read out loud Cool rhymey parts create a cool suspenseful hypnotic effect Alliteration, consonance and assonance used liberally to reinforce this hypnotic effect Onomatopoeia used for visualization

6. Begs the questions: What is the nature of dreams? How can they be frustrating? How powerful are our dreams? What do they mean, if anything? How do they acquire meaning, if they have any? Where does inspiration come from and in what ways is it slippery? What is the plight of the “tortured artist”? How in control of our art are we? On what does inspiration depend? What is the nature of memory?

7. RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER ROMANTIC LITERARY BALLAD-TELLS A STORY; LONG POEM RHYME SCHEME ABCB (CHANTING QUALITY; MESMERIZING TONE) CHRISTIAN, YET ALLUDES TO MYTHOLOGY AND PAGANISM FRAME TALE

8. SYMBOLS AND THEMES SUN (JUDGMENT AND GUILT) MOON (CHANGE AND REDEMPTION) WATER (RENEWAL AND REDEMTION) BIRDS (RENEWAL AND REDEMPTION) ROMANTICISM: LOVE OF NATURE AND UNITY SUPERSITION POWER OF PRAYER

9. Works Cited http://goldenmoods.blogspot.com/2011/03/k ubla-khan-samuel-taylor-coleridge.html http://goldenmoods.blogspot.com/2011/03/k ubla-khan-samuel-taylor-coleridge.html