David Olney "Kubla Khan" (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

[Danetto]

who are you trying to scare, old man?

[NadKoudsi]

that awkward moment when you realize this is only a quarter of the poem he wanted to write before he was interrupted and lost his thoughts

[tedlicious]

Thank sir.I played this for my humanities class today and the students laughed . . . I WILL FAIL THE LITTLE BASTARDS IN YOUR HONOR!

[NoTobaccoAds]

Yes, yes, yes this man got it right

[GU1TARD3MON]

Just reinforces how awesome this poem is!

[maitlanr]

Way to go old man!

[PBSmithy]

Jesus Wept! The first 15 secs, and I thought this was Dealey Plaza '63

[GeorgesBarras]

Opium gave Coleridge some great dreams, pure vision.

[TheBlindPig1]

if i were born elsewhere, but with savage beasts ah free, i wonder, in timatnams gresy isle, and esle and chilsle. i would be a swords man brave and true and skirt the morrow new.

[GU1TARD3MON]

This is amazing...

[TheMgm897]

can you tell me wht this peom really means? and like if i had to take 4 picturs of this peom to discribe it wht would the pic be?

[Ryuko123]

i love this poem...very good reading but the part in sanctum was read so much better!

[SayidShazeen]

Nice reading, maybe a little over the top - but very theatrical and passionate. Unfortunately not how I read it in my head - but its not half bad.

[cautiondonotstop]

i don't know what this poem means....but i love it

[IncurablePessimist]

@cautiondonotstop It was supposedly a dream that the writter had. The poem was unfinnished because he forgot his dream after a man knocked on his door with the wrong address.

[langstonify]

Thanks for this one. Great.

[MegaCoinAge]

intense!

[JimmyJohnDavis1]

Best reading of a poem i've ever heard

[kirkramdath]

nice reading!

[abrahamcat]

This is probably the best reading I have ever seen. Olney gives some extra meaning to the poem.

[Katfireblade]

Wonderful reading. Its nice to see someone place passion into the poem, instead of another flat reading by rote. I listened to about fifteen different ones before stumbling across this version, and of all of them, only this man seems to truly love the poem.

[garylongden]

My favourite poem, poorly read.

[bryngOneOn]

by way this guy mullurs the beat, throwing emphasis in the wrong places, and as for over excited bit at the demon lover stage, well thats hilarious, how did this become the most popular, prob something in its description shooting it to the top of the list, how he says the word dulcimer, this guy has no love for the english language only sound of his own voice. IMAO to avoid discussion with a level students

[52ginjaninja]

sarah palins eskimo wife made nasty souffle on a hot air balloon with this guy

[GeorgesBarras]

I'd contend that Coleridge's opium addiction hindered his work rather than aiding it for the most part.

[bryngOneOn]

either foolish or brave whoever attempts to announciate to the world what in my opinion is the quintessential epic poem, im holdin this poem up as the guilty party in instigating a decade long flirtation with opiods, well it made it acceptable in mine eyes to try it once, it gave it a lil romance anyhow, after that i cant, (but do) blame anyone but myself

[JesusFreakDK]

Uhm... Guys, isn't discussing the meaning of this an exercise in futility? I mean, if this is a drug-induced hallucination, then it HAS no meaning.

Yes, it came from within the poet's subconscious, and yes, he did put it into rhyme. But aren't we just a little bit foolish for trying to find the meaning in an opium-fantasy?

[bryngOneOn]

@JesusFreakDK u dont hallucinate on opiates, all they do is get you to focus on an idea at hand, if he had spent as nuch time before falling asleep ,drug free, he would still have come up with the same poem, opiates allow you to dwell and explore a topic without ennui setting in, on ur message all u can claim is that all creative works inspired from dreams are nonsensical, but really more from the soul

[faruq1967]

The poem is a fragment. So, it's an interrupted subconscious dream where Coleridge is roaming among his own desires and historical readings. He could draw a fantastic picture of the imagined world of the east. The picture was perfect . Alas, he woke up and the dream is cut.

[squeebl]

The milk of paradise was a fermented mare's milk that only those close to Kubla himself were allowed to drink. "Weave a circle 'round him thrice" refers to the superstition that circling a dangerous object three times would provide protection.

Personally, I like to recite this poem in a much sillier voice, but this is still good.

[daddio7777777]

Here is a challenge: What is the poem about ?

No correct answer to this question, but the answers should be interesting....

[HoodedFig900]

I always thought Kubla Kahn was a dream of Genhis Kahn and his emporial reing, perhaps coldridge imagining whats the Genghis empire was like visually. Apparent he was onopiates when he wrote this poem.

[fluorogoat]

I think its deliberately ambiguous. For me, its about the terror and the beauty of the subconscious.

[daddio7777777]

I, too, feel Coleridge was roaming his subconscious, this tanglewood of sexual desire and poetic vision. The poem contains a few sexual symbols; pleasure dome [ the female breast is dome-shaped ], romantic chasm, earth panting and the burst from the mighty fountain, demon lover. Terror ? I agree. Why terror ? Did he feel he was going mad ? Psychotropic drugs can unleash dementia. Were there insane people in his ancestry ? '' ancestral voices prophesying war...''

Of course, we may be wrong !

[fluorogoat]

Mm, good poetry can hold a lot of meanings. I read it mainly as a hallucinogenic trip into the mind, starting with the ego and language, then symbolically working down to the "sacred river" and the dissolution of form represented by the dancing rocks. Sexuality is a big part of the poem, but I think that its only half the picture, with mysticism making up the other half, though the two mix. His terror probably came from the fact that he was tripping balls, going mad and addicted to drugs. =]

[ButAWhimper]

I think this poem is about Coleridge's own fear of failure. The second stanza is no doubt a male's ejaculation.

[matt247ryan]

@ButAWhimper

?

[mzq88]

Oh Yeah! That rocks! 5 stars of course!

[57reg]

Talk about chewing the scenery.

Surprised the fence survived.

[kirbycairo]

I have hear many versions of this poem over the years and this is surely the best one. Not just for its dramatic effect but for the proper cadence which is seldom done well. Thank you.

[Stukadriver]

Guten Arbeit, meine Freund. Lucy in the Skies With Diamonds.

[jeremyjr48]

Thank you for your spellbinding performance.

[MazeLegalGroup]

That was excellent!  Thank you!

[tefisher1984]

Happy 236th birthday Samuel Taylor Coleridge!

[zedhakim]

Well done! Very nice. I listened to the video many times and thought it was inspiring.

[mooseefus]

WOW!

[oldernwiser0]

great rendition ! thanks !

[flowergirlajg]

His music is excellent- I really do love it. This amazes me. I will be showing my Grandmother And Grandfather. 5/5 And thanks for putting this up.

[tonylaiolo]

sumbitch is scary. you oughta hear his music.

[naththeace]

lol