Dreamy, haunted, and bizarre, Coleridge's poem about Xanadu and the "stately pleasure-dome" is a confusing read, if we do say so ourselves. But, as such, it's a great poem for exercising your close reading chops.
Coleridge claimed "Kubla Khan" was based on a dream he had. He said that he wrote it in flurry of inspiration. And when the inspiration was interrupted, he just stopped writing.
Do you think you need to know this tidbit o' history about the poem in order to understand it? How would your reading change if you argued that the poem was actually a coherent whole, instead of just a fragment?
Some critics think the last eighteen lines of this piece should be read as a separate section. What do you make of this last section, that begins, "A damsel with a dulcimer / In a vision once I saw"? Here's a clue to put you on the right path: Why is this the first time that the speaker uses "I," do you think?