The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
It's one of the foundational tales of the Romantic movement, an exemplar of horror ('the nightmare life-in-death was she') and grim irony ('water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink'). Its also one of the few of the Lyrical Ballads to actually be a ballad (there are a few others in ballad stanza, but only one or two -- perhaps "We are Seven" -- that really embody the ballad's mixture of lyricism and repetition). And it's proven very durable, still an engaging read in an era in which the combination of the words 'narrative' and 'poetry' elicits a sense of dread -- not of the horror of the tale but the tedium of the form.Coleridge originally wrote the poem in mock-antique orthography, with "ancient" spelled old-style as "antient," and "mariner" with a completely unnecessary final e as "marinere." Happily, he abandoned this in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads, and added helpful side-notes, an early instance of a poet annotating his own work. He chose for its setting the extremes of the ocean, evoking both the Sargasso Sea (a mid-ocean area with much floating vegetation where ships were often becalmed) and the Antarctic -- the mariner's headlong careening south is a journey similar to what we read from Poe in "MS. Found in a Bottle." The natural sublime, in the form both of the sea's teeming with unknown life, and the sterile and hostile cold of the realm of ice, is perfectly framed here, and the supernatural elements are perfectly integrated into the natural ones. And of course the mariner shoots the albatross, which is later hung about his neck by the superstitious sailors -- giving us a metaphor that's still in political use today.
As I mentioned in class, it's an excellent poem to hear read aloud -- one my favorite versions is by Sir Richard Burton -- though Ian McKellan also does a reasonably good turn, and says "greybeard loon" with real feeling.
I personally struggle with the wording of some poetry because I think too much into it, but the poem is about ancient mariner's experience aboard a ship after he kills an albatross. (a white bird with dark brown wings, I had to google it.) The bird has brought joy and good fortune, and once the man thoughtlessly kills the albatross, an innocent creation of God, and all aboard are made to suffer. The other sailors hang the albatross on the mariner's neck as punishment so that he feels guilty of what he has done. Even after the albatross was not on his neck anymore, he still had the image of the bloody bird around his neck burned in his mind, which is his lifelong punishment. The moral of the poem is to appreciate all forms of life.This was not a bad read at all for the length of the poem (I usually do not stay interested, but I made more of an effort to understand things when I didn't).
ReplyDelete-Ava Perry
The Mariner's crew thought to believe that the albatross was a good omen, as they believed it helped them steer the ship through the ocean and how the bird appears when they call out for it. Once the Mariner killed the albatross with his crossbow, things started taking a turn for the worst. His crew died from thirst, and the Mariner believed that he was cursed. He eventually notices water snakes swimming along the boat and that made him realize that all of God's creations are beautiful. Suddenly his boat sinks and a Hermit saves him. He then has the urge to tell the Hermit and other people his story. I think the lesson of this tale could be to treat all of God's creations with respect as well as all actions have consequences.
ReplyDelete-Elena Ruggieri
One aspect about this poem that I found interesting was how the mariner was the only survivor of his crew and yet he was the one who killed the albatross. I understand that the mariner had suffered for a while and had to live the rest of his life performing a penance to the bird, but then was it necessary to kill the rest of the crew when they did nothing wrong? I suppose one way to look at it is just putting the sailors out of their misery as they were near to death for days. It was honestly a little funny how the rest of the crew kept changing their feelings toward the mariner. At first they were mad when he killed the albatross, then thankful for him when the fog cleared, and then mad again when he was the only survivor and their souls were just stuck on the ship.
ReplyDelete- Hannah Parker
In the poem, there was a mariner and his crew, and the mariner killed the albatross, which caused a storm and the crew dying. It was confusing at first, but once I listened to the audio version it helped me understand the story better. I liked how the person reading used his voice to add emotion and did different voices depending on the events in the poem. The poem had multiple turn of events after the mariner killed the albatross, which lead to the storm and the death of the crew. I thought it was interesting that the actions of the mariner lead to the fate of the crew. I think the survival of the mariner was to let him see the effects of his actions and how it made his crew suffer.
ReplyDelete-Jessyca Iswanto
While I found the story to be a little hard to follow, I found it interesting that the story was told at a wedding. To me, a wedding represents happiness and the start of good things. However, the story from the mariner was quite the opposite. He struggled to survive on this ship while the rest of his crew died, the wind died, he was surrounded by sea snakes, and many other horrible things. Why did the mariner feel like the best time to tell his story was in this setting? Did he tell everyone he could story, no matter the situation? I personally would be a little perturbed if I was on the receiving end of this story, especially at a wedding.
ReplyDeleteThe poem tells a story about an ancient mariner, who stops one of three people on their way to a wedding celebration. The wedding guest tries to resist being stopped by the strange old man with the long gray beard and the glittering eyes, but the Mariner begins to tell the guest his life story about his ship voyage and the storm the sailors aboard hit. The sailors see an albatross, which is known as a white sea bird, emerge and they take it as a sign that they would be saved, until the mariner shoots the albatross with his crossbow. The albatross was seen to be good luck and as soon as the mariner killed it, the sailors aboard began to suffer. They hung the albatross around the mariners neck as a symbol of guilt & regret. To this day, the mariner still feels guilty for what he did as he continues to retell his story. From my understanding, the lesson of this poem is that one can never escape punishment from god after committing a crime; and to also protect gods creations and they will protect you. -Nicollette DeFusco
ReplyDeleteThe theme I understood from this reading is that every action has a consequence, which can be either negative or positive. Ever since I was younger I have constantly tried to remind myself to think about my actions before I actually carry them through. Same with my words. I have learned a few times that if I do not think things through beforehand something will probably go wrong. For example, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind even though it may affect someone else negatively. In the reading, the mariner did not think about slaying the albatross beforehand which put others in danger and upset them. If he had thought about his action before carrying it through he wouldn't have upset others and had to accept his own consequences.
ReplyDeleteThis poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's is about an ancient mariner experience aboard a ship after he kills an albatross. This albatross brought this mariner good fortune and joy and once he kills the bird, all of the mariners aboard are suffering. As a punishment for killing the albatross, he left alone on another ship where he was forced to confront his guilt and consequences of his actions. I enjoyed this poem and felt like I understood it for the most part after reading it a couple of times. This makes you appreciate all forms of life because a mistake can change your life forever.
ReplyDelete- Rebecca Fyrer
In The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, there is a big lesson taught to the mariner. Though his crew are the ones that faced the largest punishment, he was left with the consequences of his actions and was left alive to make it right. When he shot the albatross, he had insulted god. The crew was upset with him as when he shot the albatross the wind stopped blowing, with the explanation that the albatross was the reason for such good winds. The lesson here was that the Mariner had forgotten that all living things are just as important as he, and with the death of the albatross, he had lost that perception. I find this interesting that he was not the one to suffer, but the one left alive to repent for his actions and to never forget to appreciate all things.
ReplyDelete- Garet Reilly
Yes, it always strikes me as odd how the Mariner, who is the one sailor on board who does the terrible deed, is allowed to survive in order to tell the tale, while 200 innocent crewmen are struck dead! He does suffer, though, even as he lives.
DeleteAfter reading the poem the theme that I got from the reading was mostly guilt and redemption. The theme runs through the whole poem as the mariner struggles with the great guilt he feels after killing an innocent albatross. His impulsive act brings a curse upon him and his crew, leading to their suffering and death. As the mariner continues to narrate his troubling tale to the wedding guest, he seeks redemption and attempts to ease his guilt by sharing his story. He learns the importance of respecting and appreciating the natural world and ultimately finds redemption through a spiritual awakening.
ReplyDeleteThe mariner's storytelling has a profound impact on the wedding guest who is compelled to listen. Initially, the wedding guest is reluctant and impatient, but as he becomes fascinated in the mariner's narrative, he undergoes a transformation. He is both physically and spiritually "sadder and wiser" by the end of the story. Meaning he's more emotionally sensitive. This shows that storytelling has the power to enlighten and change those who hear it
ReplyDeleteSky Toh
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading this poem I found it very odd how even though the mariner is the one who killed the Albatross the other sailors are the ones who die and he lives. It almost seems like a punishment given to him by god because since he killed the bird he has to suffer and feel the guilt about it all throughout this journey while everyone is dying of thirst. It seems a little morbid to think about it but the people around him who eventually die and he survives to tell the story seems like a cruel way to make the person feel bad about what they have done. Before he killed the albatross everything was fine on the ship then after he decided to do it this eventually led to the demise of the other sailors on the boat.
ReplyDeleteThe structure of "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner" sort of caught me off guard. A poem that tells the story of a character telling a story is quite unique, though I doubt "Rime" is the only example of this. The way in which The Mariner tells their tale draws in the wedding guest as an audience of sorts, in spite of their initial reluctance to listen. The story itself is odd and no doubt worth listening to due to this oddness. The further the mariner goes with the story, the more drawn in the listener becomes, much like us reading the poem. As punishment perhaps for killing an albatross, the winds ceased to cooperate with the mariner and his crew. He evades the fate of his crew but forever bears the guilt of what occurred. While 200 crew members perished, the old mariner survived as a form of repentance, forever passing on his story. He fancied himself superior to nature and killed the 'good omen' albatross, resulting in immediate consequences for his thoughtless action. The mariner's violence against the bird dooms multiple crew members, somewhat representing how the actions of one can have an impact of all those onboard. It was from this action that I was reminded by the 2019 film "The Lighthouse" while reading this poem, which is a surreal drama directed by Robert Eggers set in the early 1900s. In this film, one of two lighthouse keepers kills a sea bird in frustration, which is followed by the gradual spiral of his mental state. He takes out his anger on a creature that his fellow keeper favored and warned against antagonizing. The other keeper - an older man - also endures a decline psychologically. He openly posits that the strange events that the two are experiencing is a result of the sea bird's death -- calling it bad luck or a curse. Though he didn't participate, the older keeper is punished all the same since his younger companion killed the bird. Maybe this was a common assumption during this era for sailors and mariners in the absence of a reasonable explanation. --Jaymes R.
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely mind blowing that a man who committed such a horrid crime is now telling people about it! The overall theme of this poem us nothing but guilt. Its a very dark piece of literature, basing around the action of death.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, there is a theme of paying consequences for your actions. The mariner suffers these consequences of horrors until he learns to love and appreciate the world for what it is. And once he does that, he is forgiven. The catch is he needs to continue express his appreciation for nature which therefore ends up saving others such as the weddings.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this poem was hard to follow at first, I feel like the poem had a interesting aim to it and I ended up enjoying it.
Kaleigh Hopkins
This story is filled with guilt and a man trying to redeem themself. Its a very dark story about a man that committed terrible crimes. He had to face the consequences of what he did and try to get over them.
ReplyDeleteGeneveve Provencial
DeleteThis is not the first time I have encountered this poem, and I have to say it's always intriguing to me. I say that because, first of all, it's set in the sea, which is a recurring motif in many literatures (especially older ones) across the world. Secondly, I find it fascinating to see the idea of having to live, telling the story over and over, as a punishment for killing an innocent life (the Albatross). To me, it was surprising to see the idea that we shouldn't harm nature in a poem from that time. It's a very current theme that more people should learn to internalize.
ReplyDeleteThe mariner faced so challenges represented by the trouble at sea. Water that is supposed to be calm in nature was a crucial problem. The poem was very interesting because there was drought and troubled waters. It all represents how things change quickly and things are not what they seem. The moon and women that are supposed to represent beautiful things are evil in this poem and appears the mariner did not know what and who to trust.
ReplyDeleteOlolade Ojekunle
I feel like poems have always been portrayed to look in between the lines, when some are straightforward like this poem. This poem is about guilt and consequences from violent actions. The mariner has committed terrible crimes throughout his life, and is trying to redeem himself and make the guilt away. It was challenging since he also was struggling being at sea. Calm waters did not exist, there were troubled waters and a drought creating more chaos. It seems that all pleasant things were portrayed in opposite manners. This is purposely done so he can learn gratitude and appreciation for ALL things. Which will eventually save him once it all becomes genuine.
ReplyDelete- Emily Torrez
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner is a dramatic yet impressive poem that expresses in so many words the overarching power that guilt and karma can hold above anyone who knowingly causes harm. This specific poem holds a lot of religious undertones as the albatros is a known creature within the christian world, believed to bring good fortune and a connection to nature and god with the sailor he encounters. However, in this poem the sailor makes the knowing mistake of killing the albatross in his desperation and ignorance. The rest of the story plays out like a cautionary tale, warning the reader of the consequences of that fatal mistake, angering the god and causing a long drawn out painful death of the men around the sailor, all while the sailor is forced to endure this path leading him to insanity. This poem expresses the ultimate foolishness of choosing a selfish path and the ultimate consequences that follow.
ReplyDeleteThe poem offers an important insight on how humans interact with nature as well. As important today as they were when the poem was written are Coleridge's depictions of the ocean's beauty and danger, as well as the species who inhabit it, and his ecological warning about the repercussions of upsetting nature's balance.
ReplyDeleteIf I am being honest, this story was a little challenging to follow. I was confused as to what the wedding had to do with the story. Was the story being told at a wedding? Were these events happening simultaneously with the wedding? Despite this, I enjoyed how this story painted an accurate pictures on how most human beings perceive nature, as shown by how the sailors treated the mariner based on the circumstances that occurred after he killed the albatross. - Sofia Rosa
ReplyDeleteThe poem explores themes of guilt, redemption, the beauty of nature, and the consequences of disrupting the natural order. It's known for its rich symbolism, vivid imagery, and the moral journey of the mariner as he learns to appreciate and respect all living things. This poem brings excellent human to nature connections.
ReplyDelete