“It is essential to poetry that it should be simple, and appeal to the elements and primary laws of nature; that it should be sensuous, and by its imagery elicit truth at a flash; that it should be impassioned, and be able to move our feelings and awaken affection”.
The following entry will be devoted to the discussion of Coleridge’s Poem Kubla Khan and the relation between this poem and the quote presented above, as a way of stating the similarities that are between these two elements.
When we refer to the term simple, it is not intended to minimize poetry to its basic structure but, it implies to the simplicity of nature, the simplicity of the world that surround us, where the hand of the man has not arrived yet. That is what is referring the term simple here.
A second aspect of the quote is that it say that poetry should be sensuous, which it might mean that it should be connected to the inner part of the human being, like feelings for example. There is no better way to know a person in depth but knowing his/her feelings. To be aware of the deepest thoughts and sensations of a person means to be in touch with his/her soul.
A third aspect of the quote presented above is when it refers to the imagery as a path to awake the affection. Through the beauty of the imagery included in a poem, through its power of conviction with its deep words, we can travel to the inner part of our soul, where affection lives inside of our heart.
