Previous

Coleridge’s Poetry

For insight into how “Kubla Khan” fits in with other key poetic works by Coleridge, please consult this guide.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Though “Kubla Khan” wasn’t published until 1816, Coleridge wrote it in 1797, around the same time he published “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Despite their differences in length, style, and tone, these two poems both showcase Coleridge’s fascination with the occult.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias”

“Kubla Khan” uses an exotic setting to reflect on the mysterious relationship between reality and the poetic imagination. In this regard, Coleridge’s poem is worth reading alongside “Ozymandias,” a sonnet in which Shelley uses a crumbling ancient statue in the Egyptian desert as a springboard for thinking about the vast sweep of historical time.

Previous section Historical & Literary Context

Take a Study Break