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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.
Categories: 1-15 minutes, 19th Century AD, 2005 Release, Alex Wilson (Reader), Fantasy, Formal Verse, Free, Podcast, Poetry, SF Poetry, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Speculative
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet and philosopher who began the Romantic Movement of poetry with William Wordsworth. He is best known for his longform poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Alex Wilson is a writer and stage/film actor from northern Ohio and now based in Carrboro, North Carolina. He starred in the North American Premiere of Richard Taylor's musical Whistle Down the Wind and recently filmed The Third Cord with Emmy-nominated director Jack Lucido. His animated comics-parody film All's Fair in Love and Police Actions was recently selected as an iFilm Pick. He is the founder of Telltale Weekly and Spoken Alexandria. See his website for more. [new windows, all].
Posted by alex at October 4, 2005 11:46 AM
