Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

“THE RIME OF THEANCIENTMARINER”

The Rime of the Ancient MarinerRemember: this poem appeared in a book ofpoetry called Lyrical Ballads, published in1798.Two friends wrote the collection together,Samuel Taylor Coleridge and WilliamWordsworth.They didn’t intend to necessarily begin a newliterary movement, but they did: Romanticism.

The Rime of the Ancient MarinerMary Shelley’s husband, Percy, was friendswith Coleridge and Wordsworth, AND he wasalso a Romantic poet.

Lyrical BalladA ballad is typically a dramatic poem that tellsa story. Ballads don’t tell the reader what’shappening but instead SHOW the readerwhat’s happening.A lyrical poem is typically dedicated topersonal experience and emotion.The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is somewhatlyrical, but it’s mostly a story, right?Thus why it’s called a lyrical ballad.

FormMost of the stanzas in this poem have fourlines, called a “quatrain,” and an ABCB rhymescheme, so the second and fourth lines of eachstanza rhyme.O Wedding-Guest! this soul hath beenAlone on a wide, wide sea:So lonely ‘twas, that God HimselfScarce seemed there to be.

Rhyme and meterNot all the stanzas have exactly four lines.Coleridge was not willing to sacrifice hismeaning for form.The line lengths, throughout the poem,alternate like this:Lines 1& 3 in each quatrain eight syllablesLines 2 & 4 six syllables

Rhyme and meterThe meter is characterized by a lot of iambsAn iamb is a short beat followed by a long one(or, unaccented syllable followed by anaccented one)Be-low the church be-low the hillBe-low the light-house top

AllegoryAn extended metaphor in which a character ina story or poem represents an abstract idea.Itusually involves moral or spiritual conceptswhich are more significant than the actualnarrative.

Many critics seethe “Rime of theAncient Mariner”as an allegory.STRUCTURE of the poem:SinPunishmentOf Lucifer cast into hell“ slimy things Slimy sea”“ the very deepdid rot ”RedemptionOf Adam & Eve forbidden fruitOf Coleridgeopium?“witch’s oils, / burnt green,and blue andwhite”Phantasmagoria! A“I shot the albatross” shifting series or“ and I had done a succession of things seenor imagined, as in a dream.hellish thing ”

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Internal Rhymeis rhyme that occurs in a single line ofverse.

Internal Rhyme The Theguests are met, the feast is set (line 7)ship drove fast, loud roared the blast(line 49)

End RhymeEnd rhyme is when a poem has linesending with words that sound the same.

Inversion Forpoetic effect, Coleridge inverts the wordorder from time to time.

InversionInstead of the cross, the AlbatrossAbout my neck was hung. (lines 141-142)The normal word order would be "was hung aboutmy neck." Through utter drought all dumb we stood! (line159)The normal word order would be "we stood alldumb." The naked hulk alongside came (line 195)The normal word order would be "came alongside."

AlliterationThe repetition of sounds, especially initialconsonant sounds in two or more neighboringwords (as in “she sells sea shells”). Although the term is not frequently in the multiplechoice section, you can look for alliteration in anyessay passage. The repetition can reinforcemeaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound,and/or echo the sense of the passage.

Alliteration Heholds him with his skinny hand (line 9) Themerry minstrelsy (line 36) Thefurrow followed free (line 104)

AnaphoraAnaphora is using the same word orwords to start two or more sentencesor paragraphs that follow oneanother.

Anaphora Theice was here, the ice was there,The ice was all around. (line 59-60) Herlips were red, her looks were free,Her locks were yellow as gold:Her skin was as white as leprosy (lines 190192)

Irony(1) verbal irony – when the words literally state theopposite of the writer’s (or speaker’s) meaning (2) situational irony – when events turn out theopposite of what was expected; when what thecharacters and readers think ought to happen is notwhat does happen (3) dramatic irony – when facts or events areunknown to a character in a play or piece of fictionbut known to the reader, audience, or othercharacters in the work.

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 todrink.

OnomatopoeiaThe formation and use of words that suggest, by theirsounds, the object or idea being named or theimitation of natural sounds by words such as “bang”or “buzz.”It crack'd and growl'd, and roar'd and howl'd (line 61)

Personification Afigure of speech in which the authorpresents or describes concepts, animals,or inanimate objects by endowing themwith human attributes or emotions.Personification is used to make theseabstractions, animals, or objects appearmore vivid to the reader.

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

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Remember: this poem appeared in a book of poetry called Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798. Two friends wrote the collection together, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. They didn’t intend to necessarily begin a new literary movement, but they did: Romanticism.