Time Rime of Ancient Mariner

Rime of Ancient Mariner

About the poem:

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of the best known classical poems written in English, containing some very beautiful and memorable lines. You may find that it needs some work and attention from you to understand it, before you are in a position to appreciate and respond to the beauty of the language that it contains.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a ballad, i.e. it tells a story. Ballad poetry usually includes archaic words and spellings.

Textbook-Exercise:

1. How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?

Answer: The ancient Mariner stopped the wedding guest by holding his hand with his skinny hands and holding him (his attention) with glittering eyes.

2. Was the wedding guest happy to be stopped? Give reason for your answer.

Answer: No. The wedding guest was not happy to be stopped because the wedding ceremony was about to start. As he was the close relation of the bride, he was supposed to be there in wedding, but was stopped by the Mariner. So, the wedding guest wasn’t happy to be stopped.

3. Describe the ancient mariner.

Ans: The ancient mariner is an old, old man; he's skinny, dark skinned from years of exposure to the elements, and he has a "glittering" eye. An ocean journey is imperiled by an icy stretch of sea, and the sailors' kindness to an albatross saves their lives.

The ancient mariner foolishly shoots the albatross with a crossbow, but no one can explain his actions. His punishment for such a savage and thoughtless act was to be cursed by a spirit who loved the great bird, and the ancient mariner spends the rest of his life recounting his mistake and the loss of his shipmates through impulsiveness.

4. How does the mariner describe the movement of the ship as it sails away from the land?

Answer: The Mariner says that the ship was cheered by the people standing at the harbour.  The ship came out of the harbour safely.  It passed below the church.  Then it moved towards the hill and sailed on after leaving the light house.  Finally, it entered the open sea.

5. What kind of weather did the sailors enjoy at the beginning of their journey? How has it been expressed in the poem?

Answer: The day was sunny at the beginning of their journey.  The sun came up on the left side of the ship.  It appeared as if it had come out the sea.  It became brighter and brighter as it went higher and higher in the sky. 

6. How did the sailors reach the land of mist and snow?

Answer: A stormy wind had begun to blow.  It drove the ship towards the south-pole. And there it had to face a very hostile weather. It was now mist and snow all around.  Green ice as high as the mast came floating by the ship.  The sailors reached the land of mist and snow. 

7. How does the mariner express the fact that the ship was completely surrounded by the icebergs?

Answer: When the ship neared the south-pole, huge masses of ice were floating by their ship.  They were as high as the masts of their ship.  No man, bird or beast could be seen anywhere.  It was ice and ice everywhere.

8. How do we know that the Albatross was no afraid of the humans? Why did the sailors hail it in the God’s name?

Answer: We come to know that the albatross was not afraid of the human from the lines which tells us that whenever the captain of the ship used to shout for it, it used to come at the deck of the ship.

The sailors hailed it in the God’s name because they believed that it came in the form of a God’s angel who escaped them from the mist and snow.

9. What was the terrible deed done by the mariner? Why do you think he did it?

Answer:

Answer: The terrible deed done by the mariner was killing of the albatross. In my opinion, the mariner did this as a part of human instinct. Whenever we see something unusual like an animal or organism, we, out of curiosity, try to harm the creature.

10. In which direction did the ship start moving?  How can you say?

Ans: The ship started moving in the southern direction.  There is a clear indication in the 87th line: ‘And the good south wind still blew behind’.  So, there is no doubt that the ship was moving towards the south before entering the silent sea.

11.  Why does the Mariner say that ‘no sweet bird did follow’?

Ans: The old Mariner killed the innocent and auspicious albatross in a senseless fit.  It no longer came to the sailors for food or play.  That is why the Mariner says: ‘no sweet bird did follow’.

12.  How did the other mariners behave towards the Ancient Mariner at first?  How many times did they change their mind about the Ancient Mariner?  What does this tell us about their character?

Ans: The other mariners at first cursed the mariner for killing the bird.  They said that the bird had caused the good south wind to blow.  Now they feared that the Mariner’s sinful act would bring misfortune to them all. But when no woe came to them, they at once changed their views.  They said that the Mariner had done the right thing in killing the albatross. 

But when the ship got stuck at the equator, they again started cursing the Mariner.  They said that they were suffering because of the Mariner’s sin.  They hung the dead albatross round his neck.  All this shows that the other mariners were fickle-minded.  They kept changing their mind with every blow of the wind.

13.  How did the sailing conditions change after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow?  What or who did the mariners blame for this change?

Ans: When the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow, all went well for some days.  The ship continued moving northward.  But then suddenly the ship got stuck at one place.  The wind stopped blowing.  The sun burnt red-hot all day.  It became extremely hot.  For days, the ship didn’t move at all.  The sailors had not a drop of water to drink.  Their tongues dried up and they could not speak.  They blamed the Ancient Mariner for all their troubles.  They said that they were suffering because the Ancient Mariner had killed the good albatross.

14.  What is indicated by the line: “The bloody sun, at noon, / Right up above the mast did stand, / No bigger than the moon”?

Ans: It indicates the unbearable heat of the burning sun.  The sky looked red like copper.  At noon, the sun was right above the head.  It was at the highest point in the sky.  So it looked no bigger than the moon. 

15.  How does the Mariner describe the fact that they were completely motionless in the middle of the sea?

Ans. The Mariner describes that when the ship entered the silent sea there started a period of stagnation.  There was no movement in the air or in the water.  The ship remained stuck at one place for many days.  Both the ship and the ocean were so still they looked like a painting. 

16. What is the irony in the ninth stanza?  Explain it in your own words.

Ans. The ninth stanza reflects the irony of the situation.  The poet uses the ‘alliteration’ and ‘repetition’ very effectively.  “Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink”.  Really the condition of the mariners was very pathetic.  Ironically, water was all around but they had not even a drop of water they could drink and wet their throats. 

17.  What is the narrator trying to convey through the description of the situation in the tenth and eleventh stanza?

Ans. In the tenth stanza, the poet is presenting a picture of decay and rot.  Hateful creatures with muddy legs began to crawl on the muddy sea. 

In the eleventh stanza, the poet introduces the supernatural in the poem.  At night, death-fire danced all around them.  The sea-water burnt green, blue and white like the oils of a witch.  It was really a deadly sight. 

18.  What or who did the mariners feel was responsible for their suffering?

Ans. The mariners felt that it was the Ancient Mariner who was responsible for all their suffering.  He had killed the good bird, albatross, and for this sin of his, all of them were suffering. 

Some of the mariners thought that it was the Polar spirit that was troubling them.  It had followed them from the land of mist and snow.  It was this spirit that was keeping the ship stuck at one place. 

19.  Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.

Ans. This stanza describes the terrible condition of the mariners.  Because of thirst, their tongues had gone dry.  Their tongues were so much withered that they couldn’t speak even.  They seemed to have been chocked with sooty smoke. 

20.  Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?

Ans. The mariners held the Ancient Mariner responsible for all their suffering.  They thought that the Ancient Mariner’s sin of killing the albatross was the sole cause of their troubles.  So they hung the dead albatross round the Ancient mariner’s neck.  They thought thus only the Ancient Mariner would suffer for his sin, not the others.

Themes in ‘The Rime of Ancient Mariner’:

1.    Sin and Redemption:

According to the Bible, man is a sinful creature, but redemption awaits him if he repents his wrongdoing and performs penance. This theme manifests itself as follows: After the ancient mariner commits a sin by killing the albatross, guilt hounds him in the form of strange natural and supernatural phenomena. During one terrifying experience, he has a change of heart and repents his wrongdoing. After confessing to the Hermit, he carries out a penance, which is to travel the world to tell his tale to strangers.

2.    Respect for Nature

Human beings should respect all of God’s creation and all of His creatures, including the albatross and even sea snakes. In doing so, people indicate their respect for the Creator Himself.

3.    Terror

The mariner undergoes terrifying experiences as he confronts supernatural wonders.

Figures of Speech

Alliteration

By thy long grey beard and glittering eye (line 3)

He holds him with his skinny hand (line 9)

The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,
For he heard the loud bassoon. (lines 31-32)

The merry minstrelsy (line 36)

Anaphora

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around. (line 59-60)

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked (line 157) 

Without a breeze, without a tide (line 169) 

Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy (lines 190-192)

They groan'd, they stirr'd, they all uprose, 

Irony

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink. (lines 119-122)
Water is everywhere, but there is none to drink.

Metaphor

Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,
And cursed me with his eye. (lines 215-216)
Comparison of the appearance of the eye to a curse

They coil'd and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire. (lines 281-282)
Comparison of the wake left by the sea snakes to fire

Onomatopoeia

It crack'd and growl'd, and roar'd and howl'd (line 61)

Personification

The Sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he !
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea. (lines 25-28)
Comparison of the sun to a person

Simile

    [E]very soul, it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my crossbow! (lines 223-224)
Comparison of the passing of a soul to the sound of a shot arrow

    [T]he sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky
Lay like a load on my weary eye (lines 251-252)
Comparison of the sky and sea to a weight on the eye

Her beams bemocked the sultry main,
Like April hoar-frost spread (lines 268-269)
Comparison of reflected sunbeams to frost

The bride hath paced into the hall,.................
Red as a rose is she (lines 33-34)
Comparison of the bride to a rose

The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white. (lines 129-130)
Comparison of water to witch's oils

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean. (lines 115-118)
Comparison of the motionless ship and ocean to paintings

Synecdoche

The western wave was all a-flame (line 171)
Wave refers to the ocean.

Internal Rhyme

Besides end rhyme, Coleridge also frequently uses internal rhyme. Following are examples.

The guests are met, the feast is set (line 7)

The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast  (line 49)

And through the drifts the snowy clifts (line 54)

The ice did split with a thunder-fit (line 69)

In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud (line 75)

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew (line 103)

Inversion

For poetic effect, Coleridge inverts the word order from time to time, as the following lines demonstrate.

Instead of the cross, the Albatross 
About my neck was hung.

The normal word order would be "was hung about my neck."

Through utter drought all dumb we stood!  (line 159)
The normal word order would be "we stood all dumb."

The naked hulk alongside came (line 195)
The normal word order would be "came alongside."