Poetic Inspiration in Kubla Khan and Rime of the Ancient MarinerAn examination of the characters Coleridge presents in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan" and the The situations in which they find themselves reveal interesting aspects of Coleridge's character that are both similar to and different from the characters named in the titles of these poems. In particular, an examination of these characters with a look at Coleridge's conception of poetic inspiration and success may be fruitful. In "Kubla Khan", Coleridge portrays a powerful character who "made...a majestic decree of the pleasure dome" ("Kubla Khan" lines 1-2). The fact that Kubla Khan is merely capable of decreeing a dome of pleasure pleasure and knowing that his orders will be carried out implies that he is a character endowed with both strong will and great creative power. This confidence in himself is not misplaced. a pleasure dome is built and his order is immediately carried out: “Thus twice five miles of fertile land/Walls and towers were girded” (6-7) Certain aspects of the landscape and the dome echo the harshness. what the chief's tenacious determination implies: the "continuously bubbling" fountain, the "dancing rocks" thrown into the air by the fountain, the "ancestral voices prophesying war", and the fact that the sacred river itself. even is “thrown momentarily” by the fountain (18, 23, 30, 24). As a creation of the Khan, the dome can reasonably be expected to contain clues to his character, and the Khan's characterization fits well with these clues to his character given by the pleasure dome: the image of a Mongol leader is associated with danger, war, and a large amount of force.......middle of paper......of a broken and essentially conciliatory force. Seen in these terms, it seems that the sailor is perhaps the image with which Coleridge most closely identifies, but both are symbols of his creative process.ReferencesThe Bible. Authorized translation (King James). Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “Kubla Khan” in Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Critical Edition of the Major Works. Ed. HJ Jackson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, in seven parts” (1798 text) in Romanticism: an anthology, second edition. Ed. Duncan Wu. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1998. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In Seven Parts" (1817 text) in Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Critical Edition of the Major Works. Ed. HJ Jackson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985.