While there is no one way to interpret “Kubla Khan,” Coleridge offered a glimpse into his mindset with the famous preface to this poem, published in 1816. Coleridge describes writing “Kubla Khan” in 1797 after falling asleep under the influence of medicinal opium, a narcotic substance that can affect mental processes. He claims that during his slumber, he received hundreds of lines of poetry in a vision, then awoke to write them down. He never finished, however, due to someone interrupting him, which swept the unwritten lines from his mind.

What remains is the 54-line “Kubla Khan,” labeled as a fragment of an epic poem Coleridge never wrote. Scholars have long debated the truth of Coleridge’s origin story for this poem. However, the poet’s account does provide insight into the poem’s structure and, indeed, its place in the literary canon as a quintessential poem about creativity. 

Coleridge opens the poem with the important, italicized subtitle: “Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.” The land of Xanadu and its kingly Kubla Khan are the products of the poet’s dream. What follows is something of a fable--as dreams sometimes are--full of magic, intrigue, and striking