poem


Haven't seen this movie in years but remember when it first came out. Hope this question hasn't been asked and answered a billion times but here goes. Was the main poem in this movie a real poem, and if so, what is it? I apologize in advance for my literary ignorance.

thanks.

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For some reason, I saw Martin Sheen on TV two nights ago and remembered this movie from my teenage years. I haven't seen it since then, so I'm going on my memory. I believe the poem was "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He refers to Xanadu and the book this movie is based on is "Welcome to Xanadu" by Nathaniel Benchley. Hope you come back to read this as it's been almost a month since I see you posted the question.

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Hi, I'm pretty sure you're right, as I remember Sheen calling himself "Kubla Khan." However, the name of the poem is "Xanadu," and it goes "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, a stately pleasure-dome decree..."

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Yes, that sounds right.



I don't want realism. I want magic! - Blanche DuBois

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no the poem IS called "Kubla Khan; or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment" written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge- it's always been my favourite poem


Kubla Khan: Or, A Vision In A Dream. A Fragment

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail:
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are -Lady Gaga

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In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree
And there from force of habit I only dine with royalty


From memory Doris Mae's poem is (if anybody's interested!):

Truck broke down when I was on my way home
Then along came a man speaking in poem
I thought he was nuts when he called himself Kubla Khan
Then he took me away to his cabin of the dawn
At first I thought I was in a terrible mess
But he's made me a lady, even bought me a dress
He taught me all sorts of things from the very start
He opened my mind and gave wings to my heart
At first I just couldn't figure this funny man out
But then I realised he's teaching me what life's all about
Like wanting things enough can make them come true
I guess that's what he means by Xanadu
Life on that farm was almost like hell
But now I'm Queen of England and my name is Christabell
We dine on delicacies and plenty of fruit
And I dance for him as he plays me his flute
I think he's been awfully lonely a while
And just needs a friend with whom he can smile
What he doesn't know is he's got one in me
And together we make awful nice symmetry

It may be out of order and possibly missing a line or two but that's as complete as I can get it without watching the video! (P.S. edited to add: watched the video and that's the complete poem )

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Oh, that's beautiful! It made me get all teary eyed! Thank you for posting it!

http://fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html

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Very nice poem! But it was doubtful if Doris Mae could have written that, since she was kicked out of school for punching her teacher and did not know words like "inevitable" and "perspective". It looked like the poem was written by some English major in college, or someone from Dead Poets Society.

The girl was really sweet, though.....

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The poem is called Kubla Khan and is by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I had to do a report on him (and this poem) when I was in high school a few decades ago. He supposedly woke from a dream with the poem fully composed and started to write it down, but got distracted by a knock at the door of his house. When he got back to his desk, the rest of the poem was forgotten and remains unfinished. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubla_Khan

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