Imagery

Consider:
The many men, so beautiful!
And they all dead did lie;
And a thousand thousand slimy things
Lived on; and so did I.

Within the shadow of the ship

I watched their rich attire:
Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,
They coiled and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient

Mariner”
Discuss:
1. These stanzas from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
shows the Mariner’s changing attitude toward the
creatures of the sea. What is the Mariner’s attitude in the
first stanza? What image reveals this attitude?

2. What is the Mariner’s attitude in the second stanza?

Analyze the imagery that reveals this change.
Apply:

Think of a cat or a dog you can describe easily. First,

write a description which reveals a positive attitude
toward the animal. Then think of the same animal and
write a description which reveals a negative attitude.
Remember that the animal’s looks do not change; only
your attitude changes. Use imagery rather than
explanation to create your descriptions.

Possible answers:
1. The Mariner’s attitude in the first stanza is revealed
through the contrasting imagery associated with the
men and the creatures of the sea. The men are
described as beautiful. In contrast, the creatures of the
sea are inferior to men and not worthy of living when
the men are dead. The image that reveals the attitude
about the sea creatures is the thousand thousand slimy
things which live on even though the men have died.
The creatures of the sea are not even named. The
persona calls them slimy things, which diminishes
their importance. They are also linked with the
narrator (a thousand thousand slimy things / Lived on;
and so did I…) who is reviled at this point in the
poem; and they share the narrator’s virulence.
2. In the second stanza the Mariner completely changes
his attitude toward the sea creatures. They are no
longer a thousand thousand slimy things; instead, they
have a rich attire. The colors used to describe the
creatures are specific and positive. The green is glossy;
the black is velvet. They leave a track of golden fire as
they coil and swim. The sea creatures are no longer
seen as vile; rather, they are resplendent and beautiful