The Journey, Not The Arrival, Matters

Essay: Ð''The Journey, not the Arrival Matters'

Journey is a multilayered process, which is inevitable in ones lifetime. Whilst journeys can be inner or physical it is our imagination that enables us to escape into new worlds and visualize new possibilities. These imaginative journeys occur in the realm of the mind where fantasy is created and reality is considered. The human capacity to dream and transcend actual existence often opens amazing possibilities. It is through imagination, speculation and inspiration that the exploration of new worlds, possibilities and human potential is achieved. In their own ways imaginative journeys often have a connection with our lives and the practical world. In some cases journeys are even used as parallels to reality and to comment on social and human traits. However in all texts, one element prevails; that is that the journey is of greater significance than the arrival. Texts that help explore this and the poems Ð''Frost at midnight' and Ð''Kubla Khan' by Samuel T Coleridge, Imagine by John Lennon and Ð''Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

In the poem Ð''Kubla Khan', imagery is also important for Coleridge to convey his imagination and exploration of the land to the reader and consequently takes on the journey across Xanadu. There are images of paradise throughout the poem that are combined with references to darker, more evil places. Coleridge's image of the Ð''dome of pleasure' is mystical, contradicting the restrictions of realism. Xanadu is also a savage and ancient place where pure good and pure evil are much more apparent than in the monotony of everyday living.

The first stanza has a definite rhythm and beat and describes the beauty and sacredness of Xanadu with rich, sensual and exotic images of the river Alph. This is allowed through the personification given to Alph as it flows Ð''through caverns measureless to man' and Ð''down to the sunless sea'. As this poem is incomplete the journey therefore is ultimately more important as the destination, the arrival is not reached.

The song Ð''Imagine', like Ð''Kubla Khan' also supports the stance that the journey is more important than arrival. This arrival is never reached and is continually asking you to hypothesis what a life in this world would be like if all the negatives were removed. This song is highly speculative and was written about imagining the world that was utopian. He describes in each verse what the world would be like without things like heaven, hell, countries, religion, possessions and rich or poor. He does this to express his opinion of a perfect world or utopia, in which all humans form one brotherhood of man. Lennon describes the people living in this perfect world do four things; these are the last line of each verse, Ð''living for today, living life in peace, living as one and sharing all the world'. Lennon realises some peoples reactions to this song would be that it is just another hippy anthem so he counters this with the chorus Ð''You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one'.

By saying this Lennon is expressing to the reader that this idealistic view of the world is shared by many people, and the more people that believe this the closer it will come to being realistic and in this it also makes it inspirational and a goal to make the world harmonious. However the means of how we get there is still the most critical part.

Coleridge uses Ð''Frost at Midnight' to represent the potential journeys have to promote self-realisation. The poem stands as a frozen moment in time that is able to move beyond the temporal confines of the present into the past as well as the future. We are invited to accompany the poet on a reflective journey that explores his immediate external world as well as memories, observations and aspirations that are within his mind this creates the means for a journey, but as they are dreams, they are not yet fully realised.

The room itself becomes the springboard for a mental contemplation of self and babe, the past and the future. The poet's consciousness expands beyond the confines of this wintry room with its Ð''low-burnt fire. Imagination, however, can transport the poet and the reader to a wonderous landscape of Ð''Ancient Mountain' and other sights whose beauty and spectacle can overwhelm the senses. Yet he comes to understand that whilst he "was reared in the great cityÐ'...and saw nought lovely but the sky and stars" that his son will not be. The final stanza emphasizes the learning