Information on the Origins of Xanadu. |
| Samuel Taylor Coleridge first penned the term Xanadu in his poem
titled "Kubla Khan." Most modern references to Xanadu can be directly
linked back to this poem. How he came up with the concept is of interest as well: The story goes that one night during the summer of 1797, the author, who was in ill health, fell asleep in his chair while reading from Samuel Purchas's "Pilgrimage." In the subsequent dream, Coleridge composed between 200 and 300 lines, and when he woke, hurried to write them down. Unfortunately, someone called him out of his room on some business matter and kept him for over an hour. Upon returning to his room and the poem, Coleridge discovered that the rest of the work had faded from his memory. The following line from Samuel Purchas's "Pilgrimage" is believed to be the influence behind the originating line of "Kubla Khan": "In Xamdu did Cublai Can build a stately Palace,
excompassing sixteene miles of plaine ground with a wall, wherein are fertile Meddowes,
pleasant Springs, delightfull Streames, and all sorts of beasts of chase and game, and in
the middest thereof a sumptuous house of pleasure, which may be removed from place to
place." |
Informative Links If you are interested in learning more about Coleridge and his poem, try checking out these links:
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