KublaEmpirical Kubla3Empirical

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Performing "Kubla Khan"

Last Stanza (b)





Listen to Jennings' reading of the lines "That with music loud and long" and "I would build that dome in air"

That with music
loud and long
I would build
that dome in air





Listen to Richardson' reading of the line "I would build that dome in air"

I would build
that dome in air












Consider the following two excerpts. The first excerpt immediately precedes the last stanza; the second excerpt occurs in the last stanza and alludes to the first one. It is illuminating to compare the two excerpts in Jennings' performance, both for the similarities and the differences.

It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome and caves of ice!

                         *

I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!


Listen to the second line in each excerpt.

whole line1 whole line2




The phrase "caves of ice" is literally identical in the two excerpts. Listen to the two tokens of the phrase in isolation, and then one after the other.

caves of ice1 caves of ice2   both  






















Listen to the line "His flashing eyes, his floating hair" read by Jennings and Sheen (this and the preceding line are read above by all four reciters).

Jennings Sheen










Listen to the words "floated" excised from "floated midway" and "floating" excised from "floating hair!" read by Jennings.

click here





Listen again to the four readings of the line "And drunk the milk of Paradise"


Sheen Jennings Richardson Pack

















Listen to the line "And drunk the milk of Paradise" as read by Pack, and compare it to a version in which the final part of the pitch contour was manipulated. Note the indecisive tone of the genuine version suggesting open-endedness, and the more decisive, conclusive tone of the manipulated version, suggesting finality.

genuine version doctored version






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