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The Ancient Mariner

The document provides an analysis of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". It summarizes that the poem tells the story of an ancient mariner who shoots an albatross and is then followed by strange distresses. As the mariner tries to return home, he stops a wedding guest to tell him his story. The analysis breaks down the poem's structure and provides context on the characters of the mariner and wedding guest introduced in the first stanza.

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99 views2 pages

The Ancient Mariner

The document provides an analysis of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". It summarizes that the poem tells the story of an ancient mariner who shoots an albatross and is then followed by strange distresses. As the mariner tries to return home, he stops a wedding guest to tell him his story. The analysis breaks down the poem's structure and provides context on the characters of the mariner and wedding guest introduced in the first stanza.

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Summary and explanation

he Ancient Mariner is a lyrical ballad i.e. a poem written in the form and style of a folk ballad
which is usually written by an anonymous person. The ballad is a narrative song-poem,
usually relating a single, dramatic incident or story, in a form suitable for singing or
rhythmical chanting.

Folk ballads often have sudden dramatic beginnings, are written in the form of a dialogue
usually between the narrator and the listeners as well as between characters. The language
is simple but there is plenty of repetition and use of archaic words. There is sudden change
of action besides music and rhythm. The poem contains all these characteristics. Hence, it is
a ballad although not a folk-ballad.

Part I: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner By S.T. Coleridge

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a particular long poem, split into seven sections. Please
feel free to view any of the other parts that have been analysed on PoemAnalysis.com:

PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 PART 6 PART 7

Part 1: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Analysis

The poem is about how the Ancient Mariner’s ship sailed past the Equator and was driven by
storms to the cold regions towards the South Pole; from thence she sailed back to the
tropical Latitude of the Pacific Ocean; how the Ancient Mariner cruelly and inhospitably-
killed a sea-bird called Albatross, and how he was followed by many and strange distresses;
and also how he could come back to his own country.

It is an ancient Mariner,
This first line of the poem is the poet’s comment, who introduces the central character – an
old Mariner. The poem, thus, begins abruptly without any introduction, and the main
character of the poem, that is; Mariner, stops or detains one of the three wedding guests
who are going to attend a marriage feast. When we come to the third line of the poem, we
are introduced to the Wedding-guest who is surprised by the strange Mariner’s audacity to
stop him.

This wedding guest notices the two striking features of the Mariner’s appearance –his long
grey beard and his eyes shining. The Wedding-guest is annoyed with the Mariner for
stopping him, and asks him why do you stop me, or why have you stopped me. He says that
the doors are wide open to welcome the guests, and I am a close relative of the
Bridegroom’s family and my presence at the wedding is a must. He says the wedding-feast
has been laid on the table, and I can hear the happy-sounding noise of singing and dancing.
The merry din indicates the marriage festivity. The personal appearance of the Mariner is
gradually developed.

Where in the first stanza, the poet gives us a little detail about Mariner’s long grey beard and
glittering eye, in the third part he talks about his lean and thin hand. In this stanza, the
Mariner physically stops the Wedding-guest by catching hold of his hand, and starts
narrating his story to the wedding guest, such as: ‘There was a ship.’

However, the guest found it very unusual and strange to hold off his hand and says let go of
my hand, you old crazy fellow. The Mariner at once lets go of the Wedding Guest’s hand
because he knows he can hold his (Wedding-Guest) attention otherwise also.

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