Kubla Khan & The Pains of Sleep
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6 minutes, 58 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1816
Two poems by one of the founders of the Romantic Movement.
Coleridge claimed that "Kubla Khan," one of his most famous works, came to him in an opium-inspired dream. Coleridge's symbolic pleasure-dome of Xanadu in this poem is referenced and even built in Orson Well's classic film, Citizen Kane. The full title of the poem is "Kubla Khan Or, a Vision in a Dream. A Fragment."
"The Pains of Sleep" by contrast is a more conversational and emotional piece, dealing with nightmares instead of utopian fantasies, but it is very likely that this poem, too, was inspired by Coleridge's continued opium use.
Though both poems were first published at the same time in 1816, Coleridge wrote "Kubla Khan" a good 6 years before 1803's "The Pains of Sleep," revealing very different mental reactions to his continued drug use. 1816 was also the year when Coleridge finally sought help for his addiction.
Read by Alex Wilson.
Continue reading "Kubla Khan & The Pains of Sleep"
Posted by alex at 11:46 AM
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34 minutes, 25 seconds
Unabridged Epic SF Poem
1798
The classic longform adventure poem in seven parts. MP3 Sample below includes the entire first part.
Continue reading "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
Posted by alex at 8:25 AM
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2 minutes, 21 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1798
A poem by one of the founders of the Romantic Movement.
Read by Alex Wilson.
Continue reading "The Dungeon"
Posted by alex at 9:28 AM
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5 minutes, 30 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1798
A quiet, conversational poem by one of the founders of the Romantic Movement. The frost is both harsh like reality and comforting like the speaker's imagination, and the poem deals with the juxtaposition of being present and of longing.
The University of Alberta offers an in-depth examination of this poem as a joint project between the Department of Psychology and Department of English. Read by Alex Wilson.
Continue reading "Frost at Midnight"
Posted by alex at 9:43 PM
