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Coleridge Rime of The Ancient Mariner Text Pages PDF
Coleridge Rime of The Ancient Mariner Text Pages PDF
812
Setting ( Time/Place):
Characters:
Point of View:
Theme:
Argument
How a Ship, having first sailed to the Equator, was driven by storms to
the cold Country towards the South Pole; how the Ancient Mariner cruelly
and in contempt of the laws of hospitality killed a Seabird and how he was
followed by many strange Judgments; and in what manner he came back
to his own Country.
Pa r t I
It is an ancient Mariner, An ancient Mariner meeteth three
And he stoppeth one of three. Gallants bidden to a wedding feast,
and detaineth one.
“By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp’st thou me? 4 wherefore: why.
The bride hath paced into the hall, The Wedding-Guest heareth the
Red as a rose is she; bridal music; but the Mariner
continueth his tale.
35 Nodding their heads before her goes
The merry minstrelsy. 36 minstrelsy: group of musicians.
“And now the Storm-blast came, and he The ship driven by a storm toward the
Was tyrannous and strong: South Pole.
At length did cross an Albatross, Till a great sea bird, called the
Albatross, came through the snow-
Thorough the fog it came;
fog, and was received with great joy
65 As if it had been a Christian soul, and hospitality.
We hailed it in God’s name. 63 Albatross (BlPbE-trôsQ): a large
web-footed ocean bird common in
the Southern Hemisphere.
It ate the food it ne’er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
70 The helmsman steered us through!
And a good south wind sprung up behind; And lo! the Albatross proveth a bird
The Albatross did follow, of good omen, and followeth the ship
as it returned northward through fog
And every day, for food or play, and floating ice.
Came to the mariners’ hollo! 74 hollo (häPlI): call.
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, 76 vespers nine: nine evenings.
85 Still hid in mist, and on the left 83 The Sun . . . right: The rising of
the sun on the right indicates that
Went down into the sea.
the ship is now heading northward.
Nor dim nor red, like God’s own head, But when the fog cleared off, they
The glorious Sun uprist: justify the same, and thus make
themselves accomplices in the crime.
Then all averred I had killed the bird
98 uprist: rose.
100 That brought the fog and mist.
’Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The fair breeze continues; the ship
The furrow followed free; enters the Pacific Ocean, and sails
northward, even till it reaches the
105 We were the first that ever burst Line.
Into that silent sea.
Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down, The ship hath been suddenly
’Twas sad as sad could be; becalmed.
About, about, in reel and rout 127 in reel and rout: with dizzying,
The death-fires danced at night; unpredictable motion.
128 death-fires: dim flamelike lights
The water, like a witch’s oils,
reportedly seen above decomposing
130 Burnt green, and blue, and white. matter.
And some in dreams assuréd were A Spirit had followed them; one
Of the Spirit that plagued us so; of the invisible inhabitants of this
planet, neither departed souls nor
Nine fathom deep he had followed us angels; concerning whom the learned
From the land of mist and snow. Jew, Josephus, and the Platonic
Constantinopolitan, Michael Psellus,
may be consulted. They are very
135 And every tongue, through utter drought, numerous, and there is no climate
Was withered at the root; or element without one or more.
We could not speak, no more than if 133 nine fathom: 54 feet.
We had been choked with soot.
Ah! well a-day! what evil looks The shipmates, in their sore distress,
140 Had I from old and young! would fain throw the whole guilt on
the ancient Mariner: in sign whereof
Instead of the cross, the Albatross they hang the dead sea bird round
About my neck was hung. his neck.
Pa r t I I I
There passed a weary time. Each throat
Was parched, and glazed each eye.
145 A weary time! a weary time!
How glazed each weary eye!
When, looking westward, I beheld The ancient Mariner beholdeth a sign
A something in the sky. in the element afar off.
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, At its nearer approach, it seemeth him
We could nor laugh nor wail; to be a ship; and at a dear ransom he
freeth his speech from the bonds of
Through utter drought all dumb we stood! thirst.
160 I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!
See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more! And horror follows. For can it be a
Hither to work us weal— ship that comes onward without
wind or tide?
Without a breeze, without a tide,
168 hither to work us weal: in this
170 She steadies with upright keel! direction to help us.
The western wave was all aflame, 171 The western wave was all aflame:
The day was wellnigh done! The water to the west was reflecting
the light of the setting sun.
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad, bright Sun;
175 When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the Sun.
And straight the Sun was flecked with bars It seemeth him but the skeleton
(Heaven’s Mother send us grace!), of a ship.
178 Heaven’s Mother: the Virgin
As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
Mary.
180 With broad and burning face.
190 Her lips were red, her looks were free, Like vessel, like crew!
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy, 192 leprosy (lDpPrE-sC): a disease
The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she, marked by spreading patches of
discoloration on the skin and by
Who thicks man’s blood with cold. deformities of the limbs and other
parts of the body.
195 The naked hulk alongside came, Death and Life-in-Death have diced
And the twain were casting dice; for the ship’s crew, and she (the latter)
winneth the ancient Mariner.
“The game is done! I’ve won! I’ve won!”
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
The Sun’s rim dips; the stars rush out: No twilight within the courts of
200 At one stride comes the dark; the Sun.
220 The souls did from their bodies fly— But Life-in-Death begins her work
on the ancient Mariner.
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul, it passed me by
Like the whizz of my crossbow!
Pa r t I V
“I fear thee, ancient Mariner! The Wedding-Guest feareth that a
225 I fear thy skinny hand! Spirit is talking to him;
Beyond the shadow of the ship, By the light of the Moon he beholdeth
God’s creatures of the great calm.
I watched the water-snakes:
They moved in tracks of shining white,
275 And when they reared, the elfish light
Fell off in hoary flakes. 276 fell off in hoary flakes: glittered
on water droplets falling from the
snakes.
The silly buckets on the deck, By grace of the holy Mother, the
That had so long remained, ancient Mariner is refreshed with rain.
And soon I heard a roaring wind: He heareth sounds and seeth strange
310 It did not come anear; sights and commotions in the sky and
the element.
But with its sound it shook the sails,
That were so thin and sere. 312 sere (sîr): dry.
The loud wind never reached the ship, The bodies of the ship’s crew are
Yet now the ship moved on! inspirited, and the ship moves on;
Under the keel nine fathom deep, The lonesome Spirit from the South
From the land of mist and snow, Pole carries on the ship as far as the
Line, in obedience to the angelic troop,
The Spirit slid: and it was he but still requireth vengeance.
380 That made the ship to go.
The sails at noon left off their tune,
And the ship stood still also.
Pa r t V I
First Voice:
410 “But tell me, tell me! speak again,
Thy soft response renewing—
What makes that ship drive on so fast?
What is the Ocean doing?”
Second Voice:
“Still as a slave before his lord,
415 The Ocean hath no blast;
His great bright eye most silently
Up to the Moon is cast—
First Voice:
“But why drives on that ship so fast, The Mariner hath been cast into a
Without or wave or wind?” trance; for the angelic power causeth
the vessel to drive northward faster
than human life could endure.
Second Voice:
“The air is cut away before,
425 And closes from behind. j LITERARY BALLAD
Ballads often feature dialogue,
Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high! which adds liveliness and
conveys key information. In
Or we shall be belated: what ways does the dialogue
For slow and slow that ship will go, in lines 410–429 conform to
When the Mariner’s trance is abated.” j these conventions?
And now this spell was snapped: once more The curse is finally expiated.
I viewed the ocean green,
And looked far forth, yet little saw
445 Of what had else been seen—
A little distance from the prow And appear in their own forms
of light.
485 Those crimson shadows were:
I turned my eyes upon the deck—
O Christ! what saw I there!
Pa r t V I I
This hermit good lives in that wood The Hermit of the Wood
515 Which slopes down to the sea.
How loudly his sweet voice he rears! L4
He loves to talk with marineres
That come from a far countree. Language Coach
Multiple Meanings The verb
rears can mean “brings up”
He kneels at morn, and noon, and eve— (children, for example); “rises
520 He hath a cushion plump. up” (in anger, for example);
It is the moss that wholly hides or simply “raises.” What does
The rotted old oak-stump. it mean in line 516? Hint:
Rearrange this line as “How
loudly he rears his sweet voice!”
The skiff-boat neared: I heard them talk,
“Why, this is strange, I trow! 524 trow: believe.
525 Where are those lights so many and fair,
That signal made but now?”
“Strange, by my faith!” the Hermit said— Approacheth the ship with wonder.
“And they answered not our cheer!
The planks look warped! and see those sails,
530 How thin they are and sere!
I never saw aught like to them,
Unless perchance it were
Brown skeletons of leaves that lag
My forest-brook along;
535 When the ivy-tod is heavy with snow, 535 tod: clump.
And the owlet whoops to the wolf below,
That cats the she-wolf ’s young.”
832
Since then, at an uncertain hour, And ever and anon throughout his
That agony returns: future life an agony constraineth
him to travel from land to land;
And till my ghastly tale is told,
585 This heart within me burns.
610 Farewell, farewell! but this I tell And to teach, by his own example,
To thee, thou Wedding-Guest! love and reverence to all things that
God made and loveth.
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
Comprehension
1. Recall In what ways does the albatross’s arrival seem to affect the ship’s RL 3 Analyze the impact of the
author’s choices regarding how
voyage? to develop and relate elements
of a story. RL 5 Analyze how
2. Summarize What happens to the rest of the crew after the Mariner kills an author’s choices concerning
the albatross? how to structure specific parts
of a text contribute to its overall
structure and meaning as well as
3. Clarify Why does the albatross eventually fall from the Mariner’s neck? its aesthetic impact.
Text Analysis
5. Understand Narrative Poetry Like short stories and novels, narrative
poems often focus on characters who undergo major changes. Identify the
character traits the Mariner exhibits early on in the poem. In what ways
does he grow and change as the plot unfolds? Review the chart you created
as you read to help you respond.
6. Make Inferences What are the consequences of the Mariner’s being won
by Life-in-Death (lines 190–198) rather than by Death?
7. Identify Symbol In literature, a symbol is a person, place, object, or activity
that represents something beyond itself. What symbolic meaning might
the albatross have in the poem? Cite evidence to support your answer.
8. Make Judgments Do you think that the punishment the Mariner
experiences fits his crime? Explain your thoughts.
9. Interpret Theme What overall message, or theme, about guilt does the
poem convey? Offer evidence to support your ideas.
10. Analyze Literary Ballad Review the conventions of the ballad form listed
on page 217. Identify the characteristics of the traditional ballad that are
present in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” What qualities distinguish
this poem from traditional ballads? Give examples to support your
observations.
Text Criticism
11. Critical Interpretations Decades after the publication of “The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner,” Coleridge observed that it had “too much” of a moral for
a work of “pure imagination.” Do you agree or disagree with this view?
Cite evidence from the poem to support your opinion.