The Fall of Hyperion and Kubla Khan in the context of Orientalism
Link" https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw#t=12 I'm most interested in minutes 5-8, although I'd like you to watch all 10 minutes and you may comment on any part(s). I'd like you to put this video (and our discussions) in conversation with either "The Fall of Hyperion" or "Kubla Khan" or both. What is Orientalism according to Said? Does it play out in the poems? If so, where do we see it? How does it function? What is it doing? The point here, as it is in our discussions, is not to merely say 'this part is really racist' (although we definitely should not and cannot deny that there are racist stereotypes inherent in these poems). Instead, I want us to be thinking about what specifically these stereotypes are doing. Who do they benefit and how? What kind of work do they do? How do they consciously or unconsciously shape the work of Keats and Coleridge? What is behind their fascination with these tropes and stereotypes? How do they reflect back on these 19th c. British poets?
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In accordance to Said (1978), Orientalism is the period dating from the European Enlightenment to colonization of the Arab World. It offers a rationalization for the European colonization of the Arab world based on self-serving history. This self-serving history is where the “West” perceived the “East” as an inferior and a different continent that had lagged behind in many areas. Owing to this aspect, the “West” deemed the “East” to be in dire need or intervention of the West for sustenance and development.
This aspect is depicted right in the beginning of the poem where there is a description of magnificent palaces established by Kublai Khan. Khan was a Mongolian ruler during the 13th century. These “pleasure domes” is a reflection o...