| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 1 | 22 | 44 | 65 | 87 |
|
the first clause, and this hammer-stroke of the last, go far to
make the charm of this exquisite sentence. But it is fair to own
that S and R are used a little coarsely.
'
In Xanady did Kubla Khan
(KANDL)
(KDLSR)
A stately pleasure dome decree,
Where Alph the sacred river ran,
(KANDLSR)
Through caverns measureless to man, (KANLSR)
Down to a sunless sea.' {6} (NDLS)
Here I have put the analysis of the main group alongside the lines;
and the more it is looked at, the more interesting it will seem.
But there are further niceties. In lines two and four, the current
S is most delicately varied with Z. In line three, the current
flat A is twice varied with the open A, already suggested in line
two, and both times ('where' and 'sacred') in conjunction with the
current R. In the same line F and V (a harmony in themselves, even
when shorn of their comrade P) are admirably contrasted. And in
line four there is a marked subsidiary M, which again was announced
in line two. I stop from weariness, for more might yet be said.
My next example was recently quoted from Shakespeare as an example
of the poet's colour sense. Now, I do not think literature has
anything to do with colour, or poets anyway the better of such a
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