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TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF STYLE
35
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 Xanadu did Kubla Khan | (KĂNDL) |
| A stately pleasure dome decree, | (KDSLR) |
| Where Alph the sacred river ran, | (KĂNDLSR) |
| Through caverns measureless to man, | (KĂNLSR) |
| Down to a sunless sea.'[1] | (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
- ↑ Coleridge
