Imaginative Journeys Essay Example

in the 19th centaury, only the conscious mind associates a colour to the memories of the dreams. This contrasts to Kubla Khan and Mariner where the images explored in the imagination are vivid and full of colour. Which, in Kubla Khan eventually fades into the diminishing beauty of memories. ”May not- dare not openly view it! /never its mysteries are exposed/to the eak human eye unclosed;” demonstrates the horrors commonly explored in the imagination, which cannot be fully accepted in reality and the consequences of the imagination encroaching into reality can have devastations to the ‘weak’ conscious mind.

Similarly Kubla Khan heeds a warning to the responder. ”All should cry, Beware! Beware! / His flashing eyes, his floating hair” forewarns the responder of the dangers of venturing too far into the imagination for inspiration, as the poet is depicted as the man with flashing eyes, and has an awareness of the dangers of the unconsciousness.Mariner explores the consequences of acting immorally. “I had done a hellish thing” presents the realization of his sin and the foreboding of the looming punishment. “And thus the sad Soul that here passes/ Beholds it but through darkened glasses.

” The traveler of the unconscious is portrayed as his soul, for it is truly the soul that undergoes the journey not the body. The soul however has its limitations; it only observes this world through a shaded perspective, for once the persona arrives in reality the imagery of the dreamland is destroyed and darkened behind the limits of the conscious mind to recall the imaginative journey.Kubla Khan also demonstrates this concept. “Sacred river ran..

and sunk in tumult to a

lifeless ocean” ‘sacred river’ romantically depicted as the creative process of the unconscious “meandering with a mazy motion” through the imagination then eventually disappearing into a ‘lifeless ocean’ of worthlessness, where inspiration once mighty, is now lost to the vast ocean of the mind. Through the use of these warnings the composers are able to divulge the unknown truths of the unconscious which forces the responder to reconsider or change their previous beliefs on the imaginative journey and the unconscious mind.All explore the romantic ideals of nature; however subvert expectations of the responder and produce a new meaning for nature. Dreamland depicts the ‘unholy’ facet of nature.

“Their lone waters, lone and dead,-/their sad waters, sad and chilly” through the repetition of ‘lone’ and ‘sad’ to emphasize and produce a sensation of melancholy and despair induced by the evil milieu that tortures him. These dire images symbolize the pain of the human mind.Mariner portrays the unrelenting evil of nature with “slimy things””horned moon”Once he revers nature, become “rich attire””happy living things”. Nature forgives him and he is transformed to treasure and admire its beauty. Kubla Kahn exhibits nature as a ravenous force but also beautiful. “sunny spots of greenery” illustrates the beauty of nature, however it’s contrasted to “green hill.

. a savage place! ” the colour green can be seen with a negative connotation. The use of diction for ‘green’ is effective as its amphibological.Green possibly means growth but also of greed. Coleridge recontextualises ‘green’ and shows both the beauty and vices of nature.

Poe repeats the first stanza to indicate the return to reality, however some words have changed. “I have reached these lands

but newly” to “I have wandered home but newly” showing the change and new outlook on the physical world. Coleridge and Poe explore the Imagination in order to fulfill a yearning that cannot be answered in the physical world, succeed in changing the persona and the responder through the combined imaginative journey.