“Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge“Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a poem about the creative powers of the poetic mind. Through the use of vivid imagery Coleridge reproduces a paradisiacal vision of the landscape and kingdom created by Kubla Khan. The poem switches to first-person narrative, and the speaker then attempts to recreate a vision he saw. Through the description of visions of Kubla Khan's palace and the visions of the speaker, the poem recounts the creation of an enchanting and wondrous world as a result of the power of human imagination. The second part of the poem reveals that although the mind has the ability to create this heavenly world, it is tragically incapable of sustaining it. It is believed that "Kubla Khan" was created by Coleridge while he was in a deep sleep. was induced by the use of opiates prescribed for dysentery. He fell asleep while reading Purcha's Pilgrimage about the construction of Kubla Khan's palace and garden. When he awoke from the dream experience in which he had created the poem, he began to write it. He was halfway through writing the poem when he was interrupted by a person from the nearby town of Porlock. After this interruption he was unable to complete the poem because he lacked access to the dream. The unfinished work was not published for three decades. Much mystery has shrouded "Kubla Khan" and its meaning is due to the circumstances of its creation. The poem itself is as mystical and interesting as the story behind its creation. The poem begins in a mythical tone: "To Xanadu Kubla Khan / A majestic decree on the pleasure dome." The poem gives no details about the nature of the palace's construction. It is simply stated that Khan decreed the construction of the palace and then begins to describe the palace. The poem's method of creating a vision of the “pleasure dome” is similar to the biblical account of the creation of the Garden of Eden. As Eden was created by the word of God, the “pleasure dome” was created by the power of the “decree” of Kubla Khan. The use of the word “decree” implies that it was Khan's will that created the pleasure dome. The wondrous kingdom of ancient Kubla Khan and the setting surrounding it are described with a heavenly, dreamlike vividness. The kingdom created by Kubla Khan is described as a “majestic dome of pleasure”. The word "dome" symbolizes completion... the center of the card... lost and is a mythical paradise. This woman is described as Abyssinian. Abyssinian literally refers to the inhabitants of a place in North Africa, but the use of the word “Abyssinian” also implies the word “abyss.” The speaker must revive within himself the celestial song, sung by the handmaid, to "build that dome in the air". Just as the sacred river of the abyss makes Kubla's creation possible, the heavenly song of the Abyssinian makes the speaker's “pleasure dome” possible. The speaker then speculates on people's reaction to his creation. He states that "everyone should shout, watch out, watch out! / His flashing eyes, his floating hair / Weave a circle around him three times / And close your eyes in holy terror." The reaction of amazement and terror that people have at the speaker's vision of paradise demonstrates the power that the speaker feels contained in that vision. “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge reveals the extraordinary power of the imaginative poetic mind. This poetic mind has the ability to create realms, heaven, immortality and the sacred. This poem reveals the terrifying magnificence of visions of the imagination and the impact of these visions on humanity.