Kubla Khan Essay Example for Free

Kubla Khan Essay Born in 1772 in Ottery. St., T.S.Coleridge lead a very disquiet life in his early childhood. After his fathers death he was sent to the Christs hospital school. There he had felt a great emotional vacuum, which was the beginning of his continuos ill health. Charles Lamb, his schoolmate, gave us an account of this period affirming that Coleridge was highly imaginative, who sought refuge in reading old romantic tales as well as Homer, Virgil, and Shakespeare. Perhaps the most influential period in Coleridges life was the period when he met Wordsworth in 1795, after he had left Cambridge. It seemed that in the company of Wordsworth, Coleridge found the mental peace, security, and environmental harmony. This had resulted in the sudden flowering of his genius, a sudden release of his creative impulses, and he wrote The Ancient Mariner, The Christable, and Kubla Khan. Much about the composition and subject matter of Kubla Khan can be detected from Coleridges Preface to that poem: This fragment with a good deal more, not recoverable, composed, in a sort of reverie brought on by two grains of opium taken to check a dysentery This fact raises the issue of the drugs effect on the poets creative imagination. Early critics assumed that there was a direct and immediate correlation between opium and imagination. In 1934 M.H. Abrams declared that the great gift of opium to men like Coleridge was to access to a new world as different from this one; and one which is ordinary mortal. According to Elizabeth Schneider, opium can only work on what is already there in a mans mind and memory and if he already has a creative imagination and a tendency to recall dreams and visions. Then opium may intensify and focus his perceptions. This last interpretation seems to be the most acceptable one, because this is what really happens to Coleridge. Before he began to dream he had been reading the following words of the same substance, in Purchass Pilgrimage: Here the Khan Kubla commanded a palace to be built, and a stately garden thereunto. And thus ten miles of fertile ground were inclosed within a wall. These words, it is quite apparent, formed the background upon which opium worked, encouraging Coleridges mind for imagination. The effect opium had on Coleridges mind manifests itself while examining the structure of the poem itself. It quite obvious that the third stanza is entirely different from the first two ones, as if was written by a human being whereas the other earlier stanzas seem to had been written by a demon or some divine hand. Coleridge himself confesses that he couldnt revive the interrupted composition of the first two stanzas that were written under the influence of opium, and that when he returned to his writing all the rest had passed away like images on the surface of a stream. Perhaps thats why we find it a fragmentary work, filled with strange, unusual imagery, and lacking a rational structure; its rhythms suggest a mind vacillating between conscious and unconscious modes of being. Matter of fact Kubla Khan is reliable to different levels of interpretation. First, the poem could be approached as a descriptive poem that shares the common beautiful characteristics and techniques of most romantic poets, especially when describing natural elements. Still Coleridge described the world of Kubla Khan in terms of the ancient Platonic idea of Dualism; where the world of material existence is described as the world of shadows, and the world of Ideals as the elevated one. Accordingly, Kubla Khan could be regarded as a beautiful expression of the poets longing for some ultimate beauty combining the work of man with those of nature and those of pure imagination; to resurrect lost archetypal worlds within the imagination. In this way the pleasure dome that has been established in fulfillment of the orders of the Tartar Prince can be regarded as an attempt to reach such an ideal world. Thats why the first stanza opens with a carefully constructed image of a walled garden containing incense bearing trees and forests enclosing sunny spots of greenery; a description that adds a paradisal spirit into the place Kubla has created. The ideal spirit and holiness of this world has been emphasized in a variety of expressions: in affirming that in this stately pleasure dome did Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea The sacredness of this world has been further affirmed by the fact that it is girdled round and protected from undesirable or unharmonious influences. This scene that has been described in the first stanza stands in contrast to the opening lines of the second stanza; where the poets But contrasts the planned classical artifact of Kubla with the romantic chasm; the birthplace of poetic genius and true creativity: But oh! That deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! Now the atmosphere is different: the rational order of the garden has been replaced by a scene outside the walls, which is savage, wholly, and enchanted. This natural scene is, indeed, a more perfect symbol of the reconciliation of oppositions in the world of imagination, thereby more eternal. In this stanza we are, also, introduced to the source of that sacred river- Alph- which is seen as symbolizing Platos theory of Dualism in terms of Mans journey through life in search for the Ideal world: it flows from a mysterious source- (Mans birth)- through a mazy course- (the complexities of life; poetically symbolized by the mighty fountain that burst small stones as if breathing)- to sink tumultuously into a lifeless ocean-(the sea of death). Between birth and death Man is overwhelmed by a dream of permanence- (the shadow cast by the dome of pleasure). This very last symbol has been developed in representing the dome in dream-like terms inaccessible to Man: It was miracle of rare devise, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! Thats to say the dome itself- by possessing sunny weather and caves of ice- represent a reconciliation of opposites which is impossible to human life. With the beginning of the third stanza the poem seems to take a new tern of thought. Now it gives us a vivid picture of a poet caught in a spell of poetic inspiration, who, once in a vision, saw an abyssinian maid playing on her dulcimer and singing of the wild splendor of mount Abora. At this point the poem becomes reliable to another level of interpretation. It is a poem about poetic creation. With this consideration in mind Kubla Khan, who caused a pleasure-dome and elaborated gardens to be constructed in Xanadu, is a type of the artist whose glorious creation becomes a balanced reconciliation of the natural and artificial. Similarly the poet enters the poem- using first person pronoun- in an attempt to establish his own dome. If only, Coleridge laments, he could revive within him the maids lost symphony and song, if only he could recapture the whole original vision instead of just a portion of it, then he would be able to establish that dome in air so that his witnesses would declare him to be divinely inspired and form a circle of worship around him. Being filled with holy dread they would cry:

Business Education Essay -- essays research papers

Argumentative Draft Formal Education Is the Key to Success   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The advancement of technology in the last decade has increased the demand for Americans to seek higher and formal education. No longer do we live in the age of manual labor, family owned & operated conveniences, but rather a computerized age. Thirty-years ago job seekers could find stable and secure work that would ensure stability and a prosperous future. Those white collar jobs could be obtained and secured by individuals lacking a formal and/or higher education. Today, blue collar jobs like fast food restaurants, warehouse labor, and/or janitorial services prefer and sometimes require some form of education. Employers have become more openly concerned about their employees ability to represent their companies. (Formal education is the key to empowerment, but it is not necessary in order to become successful in today’s society.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education has become a large importance and often the determining factor for competitive job seeker. More than half of Americans citizens seek some form of education at one time or another whether it be for job placement or advancement. Technology is always changing and requires employers to train and re-train its employees to keep then afloat. College students like myself have always been for warned that higher education is the key to ensure success in the career world and will be the only means of providing a competi...

Overpopulation of the World and the Problems It Creates

Overpopulation of the World and the Problems it Creates The world is faced with growing conservation problems daily, most of which are caused by an increasing population. In order to deal with the problems of overpopulation, the world needs to consider minimizing consumption, lowering waste byproducts, and keeping a hand on land management. Consumption is the act of using resources at an uncontrolled rate. It is mainly the result of overpopulation. The population of the world is growing by approximately 212,970 people per day and is said to reach nine billion people by 2040 (World Population). As the population increases at this rapid rate, the demand for food, water, and shelter will also rise just as quickly. Since the demand for goods like electricity and fuels also increase, we should consider using a more conservational method to create these items by using more abundant and replaceable resources. Water is the most abundant resources on the planet. Instead of using petroleum based fuels to run cars, we should use water. Scientists have already developed hydrogen powered vehicles such as cars, busses, scooters, and tractors (NREL). Another alternative for fueling cars are crops like corn that produce ethanol. Electricity is going to one of the most demanded items as the population grows. In some places, fuels are being used to create energy. Instead, abundant resources like sunlight, wind, and water should be used to generate all the electricity that is consumed. But, even with these methods of producing a â€Å"cleaner† energy supply, the general population will have to contribute to the conservation of the energy. Some simple things that people can do is :lower thermostats, use energy efficient bulbs, use drip irrigation to water flowers and fruits, use solar energy to dry clothes, and create a compost to dispose of that waste instead of throwing it away. As the population is growing, the amount of waste that is produced from the consumption will increase at a much more rapid pace. Each person per day produces about 4. 4 pounds of waste. The majority of this waste is thrown away in the trashcan, which is set at the curb to be picked up by a diesel truck polluting the air and using energy, only to end up in a andfill. With the increase in needs of food and other items, more and more trash will result. Recycling is the best way to fix this problem and keep 95% of trash out of landfills. It is projected that Americans will throw away over 11 million tons of glass bottles and jars 1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil more than1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil, over 4 and a half million tons of paper and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper (Center). Almost all of this material could be recycled, saving millions of trees and over 100% combined energy that is used to make new products. Businesses can also play their part in recycling things such as cooking oil that could be used as fuel in a vehicle. If we do not engage in actions to clean up the present landfills and prevent future ones, we could possibly be looking at problems such as contaminated water and soil. Land management goes along side of both consumption and waste. As the population increases, more space will be needed for houses, hospitals, schools and businesses. As a result, we must make room by methods such as destroying forest and filling in lakes, rivers, and streams. To us we may only see trees and dirty, microorganism infested water, but these two ecosystem house millions of species of animals and plants that are vital to our survival on Earth. Research states that the earth was once covered by 5. 8 million to 6. 2 million square miles of forest. Today only 2. million to 3 million square miles of forest still remains (Nielsen). By destroying these bionetworks, plants and animals become endangered and maybe even extinct. As a result, this causes entire ecosystems to collapse. Without plants, animals die and without plants and animals, the human species can no longer eat or breathe, therefore, becoming extinct itself. Humans can take control of this growing problem by considering options like apartment buildings or larger skyscrapers to t hings like online schools and e-shopping. Without a doubt, the population of the world is going to continue to grow, but that does not mean that the problems dealing with consumption, waste, and land management has to also. If we could use nature made goods like sunlight, water, and wind, we could reduce the amount of energy consumed, decrease the amount of waste produced, and decrease the amount of land destroyed that is needed to serve the population. Works Cited 7 Environmental Problems that were Worse than we Thought. 3 Feb 2008. 23 Feb 2010 . Alexander, Kathleen. Tree Benefits. 23 Feb 2010 . Bureau, U. S. Census. â€Å"Global Population Growth. † 2002. 23 Feb 2010 . Center, University of Colorado Environmental. CU Environmental Center. 2008. 23 Feb 2010 . National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL – Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research. 29 Sept 2009. 24 Feb 2010. Nielsen, Ron. The Little Green Handbook: Seven Trends Shaping the Future of Our Planet. New York: Picador, 2006. Today's Top Global Environment Issues. 23 Feb 2010 . World Population Prospects-The 2008 Revision Population Database. 2008. 24 Feb 2010

The Transition From A Woman To A Mother in Hemingways...

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