Not only did Coleridge co-found the Romantic Movement in England during the second half of 19th Century, but also gave birth to Gothic Literature with his incomplete poem Kubla Kahn. As a romantic, his devotion to nature as a representation of God is clearly denoted in his work, though with a twist of the conventional figure of the caring Father. He focused his work on the dark side of nature, idealizing her destructive motion as opposed to her static beauty. Nature’s anger is triggered by human’s impudence, trying to equal deities in power, strength or knowledge, always trying to prove they are better than animals, nature, or even God itself. Coleridge reproduced that eternal need, assigning to his text the constant desire of playing God, and of course, its consequences. Kubla Kahn, founder of Mongolic monastery and representative of humankind, dares Mother Nature by building a fortress over Her mountains and rivers. It is important to notice that during the first half of the 19th Century, romantics were not quite fond of science, as they believed it was heretic to think of any explanation to the world other than that by the hand of God. Hence, the intromission of human constructions into sacred land was seen almost as something demonic. As the plot goes on (unfinished), the reader can infer that Nature (God) reveals and revolts, making storms and quakes that destroy all human attempts to achieve equal greatness. Far from portraying it as a disaster, the poem is an exaltation of the dark, destructive side of nature. The idea that lingers is that Kubla Kahn received what he deserved for trying to over power the higher deity, and that this divinity has equal power to create and to destroy.
Not only did Coleridge co-found the Romantic Movement in England during the second half of 19th Century, but also gave birth to Gothic Literature with his incomplete poem Kubla Kahn. As a romantic, his devotion to nature as a representation of God is clearly denoted in his work, though with a twist of the conventional figure of the caring Father. He focused his work on the dark side of nature, idealizing her destructive motion as opposed to her static beauty. Nature’s anger is triggered by human’s impudence, trying to equal deities in power, strength or knowledge, always trying to prove they are better than animals, nature, or even God itself. Coleridge reproduced that eternal need, assigning to his text the constant desire of playing God, and of course, its consequences. Kubla Kahn, founder of Mongolic monastery and representative of humankind, dares Mother Nature by building a fortress over Her mountains and rivers. It is important to notice that during the first half of the 19th Century, romantics were not quite fond of science, as they believed it was heretic to think of any explanation to the world other than that by the hand of God. Hence, the intromission of human constructions into sacred land was seen almost as something demonic. As the plot goes on (unfinished), the reader can infer that Nature (God) reveals and revolts, making storms and quakes that destroy all human attempts to achieve equal greatness. Far from portraying it as a disaster, the poem is an exaltation of the dark, destructive side of nature. The idea that lingers is that Kubla Kahn received what he deserved for trying to over power the higher deity, and that this divinity has equal power to create and to destroy.
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