Transcript The Rime of The Ancient Mariner by: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

THE RIME OF
THE ANCIENT
MARINER
Andrew Go
Jeffrey Hu
Matt Ha
BY: SAMUEL TAYLOR
COLERIDGE
THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

Part III
"There passed a weary time. Each throat
Was parched, and glazed each eye.
A weary time! a weary time!
How glazed each weary eye When looking westward, I beheld
A something in the sky.
At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist;
It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As if it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered.
With throats unslaked, with black lips
baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!
With throats unslaked, with black lips
baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy! they for joy did grin,
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all.
See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more!
Hither to work us weal;
Without a breeze, without a tide,
She steadies with upright keel!
The western wave was all a-flame,
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright sun;
When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the sun.
And straight the sun was flecked with bars,
(Heaven's Mother send us grace!)
As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
With broad and burning face.
Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud)
How fast she nears and nears!
Are those her sails that glance in the sun,
Like restless gossameres?
Are those her ribs through which the sun
Did peer, as through a grate?
And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that a Death? and are there two?
Is Death that Woman's mate?
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold.
The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
`The game is done! I've won! I've won!'
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out:
At one stride comes the dark;
With far-heard whisper o'er the sea,
Off shot the spectre-bark.
We listened and looked sideways
up!
Fear at my heart, as at a cup,
My life-blood seemed to sip!
The stars were dim, and thick the
night,
The steersman's face by his lamp
gleamed white;
From the sails the dew did drip Till clomb above the eastern bar
The horned moon, with one bright
star
Within the nether tip.
One after one, by the star-dogged
moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh,
Each turned his face with a ghastly
pang,
And cursed me with his eye.
Four times fifty living men,
(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.
The souls did from their bodies fly,
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my crossbow!"
LITERAL SENSE
 It was a discomforting and tiresome moment. Everyone was parched and
tired. We saw something to the west and it was moving back and forth. It
was another ship! We were so parched that we couldn’t scream or say
anything. So I bit my lips and used the blood to moisten them and
screamed! Everyone heard my voice and saw the ship as well and rejoiced in
the finding. The sun was setting, but the ship was still strangely heading
towards us. We see that it is a ghost ship and it contains a life-in-death
figure of a lady and death himself. Her lips were red, hair was blonde, and
she had skin as if she was dead. Death and L-the Life-in-death figure were
playing a game of dice in front of us. Life-in-death lady won and we are
scared out of our minds. However, nothing happens. The moon and stars
come out and then something happened. Everyone started dying, one by
one. Everyone loses breathe and looks dead then dies and they all stare at
me before they die as if to blame me for bringing on the trouble to the ship.
LITERAL SENSE
 Everyone was stranded on a boat for a couple of days and the mariner
spotted a ship out on the west. He doesn’t know what it is but the shape
starts to focus and he knows what it is. It’s a ship and he wants to call out
to it. But his mouth Is so dry that he can’t speak, so he bites his arm and
uses his blood as a moistener. He lets everyone know that he sees a sail and
everyone rejoices. The ship gets closer to them as the sun sets and the ship
has a ghoulish appearance as it blocks out the sun. It’s a ghost ship and
there is Death and Life-in-Death figure on the ship. They play a game to
determine who controls the fate of the stranded men. The life-in-death lady
wins and the men are scared; however, nothing happens and night falls. The
ship disappears. A moon comes up in the shape of a horn and a star appears
right next to it. Suddenly, everyone starts to die and stares at him before
they die. Their souls passing him like a crossbow.
DICTION
 The words and vocabulary used in The Rime of The Ancient Mariner are
formal and very descriptive. However, it wasn’t too formal like the language
in Beowulf. The descriptions create a colorful descriptive picture in the
readers mind and makes them feel like they’re there.
 Example: “With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, We could nor laugh
nor wail; Through utter drought all dumb we stood! I bit my arm, I sucked
the blood, And cried, A sail! a sail!”
 There were some connotations in the poem such as reference to a city. For
Example: “The western wave was all a-flame, The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright sun; When that
strange shape drove suddenly Betwixt us and the sun.”
This example connotes the west with Britain because that is where they
came from and was stranded from.
DICTION
 There were some etymology of some of the unused words today are
still the same. It’s just that we barely use these words
for example: Alas, alongside, o’er, thrice, hither, etc.
TONE AND MOOD
 The tone and mood seen in the poem represent those of suffering/pain,
confusion, joy, suspense, and frightfulness. However, the author
establishes mostly fear through the use of twisted/dark descriptions. For
example: The mariner who bit his lips and used blood for moistening his
lips and the game of dice between Death and Life-in-Death lady.
 There are an abundant amount of emotions seen throughout the poem.
There is fear as stated before and sometimes joy. For example: When
the stranded people find a boat and are overjoyed. Some other moods
sensed in the poem is confusion/suspense. For Example: The sailors find
a ship but don’t know why it’s coming towards them when the sun is
setting and when the Life-in-Death figure wins the game of dice but
nothing happens.
TONE AND MOOD
 There was no irony within the poem, it was pretty straightforward.
 The mood that I felt while reading the poem was “creeped out” due to
the descriptive words used to describe the ship and figures in the poem.
The poem left me just wondering what would happen.
 Coleridge successfully makes the mood creepy and fearful.
RHETORICAL SITUATION
The speaker of the poem is the Mariner. The
Mariner is telling about the situation he and his
crew are in. Him and his crew are stuck on a boat
and are in need of rescue.
The Mariner is speaking directly to the audience
from a first person view.
This allows the audience to truly imagine what is
going on from his point of view.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
 The poem contains personification which is attributing human qualities
to an inanimate object or an abstract concept.
 Ex: “And straight the Sun was flecked with bars,
(Heaven's Mother send us grace !)
As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
With broad and burning face.”
 The poet gave the sun a face.
IMAGERY
 The poem has a lot of imagery
 It has mainly the sense of sight.
 “At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist ;
It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.”
 “A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist !
And still it neared and neared :
As if it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered.”
 “And straight the Sun was flecked with bars,
(Heaven's Mother send us grace !)
As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
With broad and burning face.”
 “Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold :
Her skin was as white as leprosy,”
 It also has the sense of taste
 “I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail ! a sail !”
 An example of symbolism
would be when the narrator
talks about the night falling,
and the mysterious Ghost
Ship ("spectre bark") sailing
away. This symbolizes death
that is about to happen to
the Mariner and his
shipmates.
DOES IT HAVE RHYME, EITHER EXACT OR
APPROXIMATE REPETITION OF A FINAL
SOUND?
At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist;
It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As if it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered.
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!
DOES IT USE REPETITION OF SOUNDS,
WORDS, LINES, REFRAINS?
At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist;
It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As if it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy! they for joy did grin,
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all.
DOES IT CONTAIN ALLITERATION: REPETITION OF CONSONANT
SOUNDS, PARTICULARLY INITIAL CONSONANTS (THE FIRST
SOUND IN A WORD), EITHER WITHIN OR BETWEEN LINES?
See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more!
Hither to work us weal;
Without a breeze, without a tide,
She steadies with upright keel!
The western wave was all a-flame,
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright sun;
When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the sun
IS THERE ASSONANCE: THE REPETITION
OF A VOWEL SOUND IN A LINE OR
PASSAGE?
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold.
See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more!
Hither to work us weal;
Without a breeze, without a tide,
She steadies with upright keel!
The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
`The game is done! I've won! I've won!'
Quoth she, and whistles thrice
ARE ANY OF THE WORDS
ONOMATOPOEIC?
At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist;
It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As if it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered.
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail
Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud)
How fast she nears and nears!
Are those her sails that glance in the sun,
Like restless gossameres?
IS THE EFFECT OF THESE DEVICES CACOPHONY: HARSH OR
DISCORDANT SOUNDS, OR EUPHONY: PLEASING,
HARMONIZING SOUNDS?
MOSTLY HARSH AND DISCORDANT.
The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
`The game is done! I've won! I've won!'
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
Four times fifty living men,
(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.
DOES IT HAVE STANDARD FORM?
 The poem is structured in standard form; it has rhymes and stanzas –the
basic forms of a poem.
IT HAS STANZAS.
 Coleridge divides the poem into seven parts. It consists of the stanzas in
the poem and most of them have four lines; several have five or six lines.
RHYME PATTERN
 In the four-line stanzas, the second and fourth lines usually rhyme. In the
five- and six-line stanzas, the second or third line usually rhymes with
the final line.