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RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. By Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Parts 1-3: Question #1. What is the effect of the contrast between the Mariner’s appearance and the wedding feast that is described in lines 7-8?. ANSWER. The contrast makes the sailor seem even more out of place.

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RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

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  1. RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

  2. Parts 1-3: Question #1 • What is the effect of the contrast between the Mariner’s appearance and the wedding feast that is described in lines 7-8?

  3. ANSWER • The contrast makes the sailor seem even more out of place. • It also increases the tension of the poem.

  4. Question #2 • How do the two characters compare in lines 9-16?

  5. ANSWER • Mariner: • much older and stronger of will • Wedding Guest: • is easily swayed and conventional

  6. Question #3 • What does the imagery of lines 22-24 describe?

  7. ANSWER • The ship’s departure. • The ship seems to “drop” below the structures because of the curvature of the earth’s surface.

  8. Question #4 • In what direction does the information in lines 25-28 tell you the ship is traveling?

  9. ANSWER • South; • The sun rises in the east, which is on the ship’s left side.

  10. Question #5 • What is the effect of the interruption and return to the wedding feast scene in lines 31-36?

  11. ANSWER • The interruption creates Suspense. • The joy of the celebration contrasts with the somber tone of the Mariner’s tale.

  12. Question #6 • Why do you think the basic stanza form changes in lines 45-50?

  13. ANSWER • The extra lines prolong the suspense of the ship’s flight before the storm.

  14. Further Notation • At the time Coleridge wrote this poem, sailors were still subjected to barely edible food, exhausting labor, pitiful living conditions, and countless dangers. • Among the dangers were disease and shipwreck, but oterh dangers were support for tales of the supernatural. • The threat of cannibalism, though exaggerated, was real--if not from the natives of exotic lands then from one’s shipmates if the ship wrecked or ran out of food. • Coleridge had never been to sea when the poem was written.

  15. Question #7 • Why do you think the Mariner shoots the Albatross?

  16. ANSWER • He is annoyed by the bird’s presence. • The “fiends” cause him to do it • OR…his lack of motive adds to the mystery of the poem.

  17. Part 2 • The ship has probably rounded Cape Horn, the southern part of South America and is likely headed north.

  18. Question #8 • Why does the shipmates opinion of the Mariner change in lines 93-102?

  19. ANSWER • They see the bird’s death as the cause of the calm, so they are mad the Mariner has killed the bird. • During the fog, they are glad the Mariner killed the albatross because they think the bird caused the mist.

  20. Question #9 • What mood is created in lines 123-130?

  21. ANSWER • The mood of the poem turns even more FANTASTICAL The Mariner seems to hallucinate “slimy-things” and “death-fires”.

  22. Question #10 • What illusion of movement is created by the imagery in lines 149-152?

  23. ANSWER • The growing size of the spotted object indicates it is moving TOWARD the ship.

  24. Question #11 • What might the shape’s position in lines 175-176 foreshadow?

  25. ANSWER • The shape’s eclipse of the sun suggests that it will bring the sailor’s “doom” • The eclipse could be a bad omen… telling of the future of what may happen to the crew.

  26. Question #12 • What do you think the woman’s words and actions in lines 197-198 indicate will happen to the Mariner?

  27. ANSWER • They suggest that the Mariner is spared death, but will endure “Life-in-Death”.

  28. Parts 4-7 • After a brief return to the Wedding Guest speaking, the Mariner returns to his tale.

  29. Question #1 • Do the Wedding Guest’s suspicions in lines 224-231 seem reasonable?

  30. ANSWER • After such a tale, the idea that the Mariner is a GHOST is not far-fetched.

  31. Question #2 • What is the effect of the alliteration and assonance in the repeated words in lines 232-233?

  32. ANSWER • DESOLATION; Loneliness Both of these ideas are underscored by the Mariner’s words.

  33. Question #3 • Why is the stare of the dead men in lines 260-262 a curse on the Mariner?

  34. ANSWER • He feels responsible for their deaths because he killed the albatross; • Also, he is the only one who did not die.

  35. Question #4 • How does the mood of the poem change with the rising of the moon in lines 263-271?

  36. ANSWER • Moonrise=Calmness, Healing Quality This contrasts with the “bloody sun”

  37. Question #5 • Lines 282-291 These lines mark a turning point in the narrative. What action does the Mariner take that begins his “rebirth”?

  38. ANSWER • He shows love toward the water snakes and blesses them Shows an appreciation for all of God’s creatures…

  39. Question #6 • What is the effect of the simile in lines 324-326?

  40. ANSWER • Simile unites the image of the waterfall with the sight of lightning, producing an especially vivid picture of a violent storm.

  41. MORE NOTATION • Wordsworth claimed credit for the idea of having a ship manned by dead sailors • Tales of ships with dead crews were common at this time among sailors

  42. QUESTION #7 • In line 345 The Wedding Guest interrupts the tale again. How does the Mariner console him?

  43. ANSWER • By explaining that the bodies were animated by angelic spirits.

  44. Question #8 • To whom does the Mariner allude in line 399?

  45. ANSWER • Reference is to Christ

  46. Question #9 • What do you think is meant by the second voice’s comment in lines 408-409?

  47. ANSWER • The Mariner will undergo further trials in the poem.

  48. Question #10 • Whose voices begin part 6? • Why is this change of speaker necessary?

  49. ANSWER • The voices are not those of the two spirits that spoke in lines 398-409. • They are describing the ship’s progress while the Mariner lies in his ‘swound’.

  50. Question #11 • How are the moon and ocean personified in lines 414-421?

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