1. What is ‘Kubla-Khan’ about?
Ans. ‘Kubla-Khan’ is about poetry and poetic inspiration. The first thirty six lines of the poem deal with the naturalness, popularity and matter of factness of poetry. The second part of the poem purports to mean that the speaker could build a propitious palace with music if he could revive in himself the deep delight that he felt at visions he once beheld.
2. Describe the pleasure-palace that Kubla-Khan ordered to build.
Ans. Kubla-Khan ordered to build a magnificent pleasure-palace in Xanadu on the bank of river Alph. For that purpose, ten square miles area in diameter was encircled with walls and towers. Within its circumference this place had bright gardens, winding streams, aromatic trees and forest as old as hills.
3. “But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted / Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place!” – What makes the setting ‘a savage place?’
Ans. In these lines, Coleridge speaks of the place where Kubla- Khan ordered a magnificent pleasure-palace to be built for him. A deep, awe-inspiring and mysterious gorge ran down the slope of the green hill across a wood of cedar trees making the place, wild, fearful, primitive or savage.
4. “As holy and enchanted / As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted.” – What seems to be “holy and enchanted? “By whom “a waning moon” was haunted?
Ans. Here, the poet speaks of the place where Kubla-Khan had ordered a magnificent pleasure-palace to be built for him. The place seems to be ‘holy and enchanted’ and as sacred as the one visited by a woman wandering about in quest of her demon lover in the dim light of a waning moon.
5. “And mid this tumult Kubla heard from afar, Ancestral voices prophesying war.” – How could Kubla hear the ‘ancestral voices prophesying war’?
Ans. Kubla-Khan ordered a magnificent pleasure-palace to be built for him in Xanadu on the bank of the river Alph. River Alph followed a long winding course through woods and valleys. Then it entered the immeasurably deep caves and finally sank into the Dead Sea, making a loud noise. Amidst this noise Kubla heard the ancestral voices prophesying war.
6. “It was a miracle of rare device / A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice.” -What was a ‘miracle of rare device’?
Ans. The pleasure-dome of Kubla-Khan of which Coleridge gives a description in the poem ‘Kubla-Khan’ was ‘a miracle of device.’ It was erected in an ice-bound region somewhere midway between the fountain and the immeasurably deep caves. The palace had a marvellous architectural skill and stood bathed in sunlight.
7. “A damsel with a dulcimer / In a vision once I saw.” -Who saw the “vision”? Describe the “vision”.
Ans. In the poem “Kubla-Khan”, Coleridge speaks a vision that he had seen once. He had a strange vision of an Abyssinian girl playing on her dulcimer, a kind of musical instrument and singing of the wild splendour of Mount Abora.
8. “I would build that dome in air.” – Who “would build that dome in air” and how?
Ans. In the poem ‘Kubla-Khan’, Coleridge gives description of his vision of an Abyssinian maid playing a dulcimer and singing Mount Abora. He says that if he could recapture the song, the sound would fill in him with such a divine inspiration that he would write a powerful poetry to give a vivid and splendid description of Kubla- Khan’s pleasure-dome. Those who would listen to his poetry would be able to see the dome in imagination.
9. Who was Kubla Khan? Where is Xanadu?
Ans. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty in 13th-century China. He became the first Mongol to govern China after his conquest of the southern Song Dynasty in 1279.
Xanadu, also known as Shangdu, situated on the southeastern edge of the Mongolian plateau, initially served as Kublai Khan’s capital from 1263 to 1273. It later became the summer capital of the Yuan Dynasty, a role it held from 1274 to 1364.
10. “For he on honey dew hath-fed and drunk the milk of Paradise.” – About whom the poet is speaking here? Explain.
Ans. In these lines Coleridge says that if he can revive within himself the song of the Abyssinian maid, he could write splendid poetry. The reading of that poetry would make his readers think that the poet had fed on honey-dew and nectar, a sort of magical drink available in Heaven.
11. When was the poem written? When was it published?
Ans. Kubla Khan is written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797 and published in 1816.
12. What is the source of the poem? What book was Coleridge reading before composing the poem?
Ans. Kubla Khan was likely written in October 1797. According to the extended preface narrative, Coleridge was reading Purchas his Pilgrimes by Samuel Purchas, and fell asleep after reading about Kublai Khan.
The poem was written one night after the poet had a dream influenced by opium. The dream was inspired by a description of Shangdu, which was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty in China, established by Kublai Khan. When the poet woke up, he started writing down the lines of poetry that came to him in the dream. However, his writing was interrupted by someone from Porlock, and he couldn’t remember the rest of the lines. So, he could not complete the poem as originally planned, which was supposed to be around 200-300 lines long.
13. What are the two sub-titles of the poem? Why are they given?
Ans. The poem, Kubla Khan, is sometimes given the subtitles “A Vision in a Dream” and “A Fragment.”
These additional phrases or descriptors are not official sub-titles but are often used to provide further context or emphasize the dreamlike and incomplete nature of the poem. Together, these subtitles underscore the poem’s mystical inspiration and its status as an incomplete piece of literary art.
14. Describe the location / setting of the poem “Kubla Khan”.
Ans. The setting of “Kubla Khan” is the mythical land of Xanadu, where Kublai Khan orders the construction of a grand pleasure palace. This palace is situated by the sacred river Alph, which flows through vast caverns and into a tumultuous sea. The landscape is both enchanting and dramatic, featuring ten miles of fertile ground enclosed by walls and towers, lush gardens, winding streams, aromatic trees, and ancient forests. Amid this idyllic scenery lies a deep, romantic chasm running down a green hill, covered with cedar trees, creating a wild and awe-inspiring ambiance. The setting blends natural beauty with supernatural and surreal elements, contributing to the poem’s dreamlike quality.