A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw;
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Now the poem takes a major turn.
Without any warning, the speaker changes the subject. He starts to describe another vision that he once had.
In this vision he sees a girl. He tells us three things about her, in three lines: 1) She was Abyssinian (that's an old way of saying Ethiopian). 2) She was playing a dulcimer (an instrument with strings that you pluck or hit with a mallet). 3) She was singing about a place called Mt. Abora (a name that Coleridge made up).
That's a pretty clear description in some ways, but what are we supposed to take away from it? Why does this combination of images matter? Why does it show up here?
One way to look at these lines would be to dig around and see if there's a kind of code here.
For example, where and what is Mt. Abora?
Some people think the speaker is referring to a real place in Ethiopia, some think it's a biblical reference, and others tie it to a place that Milton mentions in Paradise Lost.
You could ask the same questions about the other parts of this vision.
Why is she from Ethiopia, what does the dulcimer symbolize?
We think this question is important, but we also think that this part of the poem is also meant to be personal and mysterious.
Coleridge could definitely have been more explicit if he wanted to.
In one sense, though, all dreams and visions are private, and they can't be completely explained. That sense of mystery is part of what makes this poem beautiful.