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"THE RHYME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER" (S.Coleridge, 1798 -->…
"THE RHYME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER" (S.Coleridge, 1798 --> Lyrical Ballads)
THEMES
• THE SUPERNATURAL
• RELIGION
• ISOLATION AND SUFFERING
• SIN AND FORGIVENESS
• MAN VS NATURE
• FATE
• LIFE & DEATH
PLOT
PART 1
• The mariner stops one of three wedding guests
• begins telling the story of a sea-journey:
• the ship gets blown off course; an albatross shows to help them out
• Killing of the Albatross for no reason;
PART 2
• at first the crew is furious
• then they decide the bird has brought fog, so they congratulate him
• suddenly the ocean gets worse
• the crew blame the Mariner and force him to wear the Albatross'corpse around his neck
PART 3
• the crew is getting thirsty; they can't talk;
• a ship approaches, but there's something odd
• boat crewed by DEATH and LIFE IN DEATH who play dice for the mariner's soul
• LIFE IN DEATH wins his soul letting the rest of the crew die (201 people)
• they curse the Mariner before dying
PART 4
• the Mariner sits on the ship with the dead bodies for 7 days
• he blesses the water snakes and the Albatross falls off his neck
• the wind and the ocean get better
PART 5
• he falls asleep; when he wakes up all of the dead men rise up and start to steer the ship ( a bunch of spirits have inhabited them)
• the mariner hears two voices telling he has done penance, but would continue to do more
PART 6
• The moon overpowered the sea and moved the ship northward toward the Mariner's home (he recognizes the church and other places)
PART 7
• he meets some spirits and a hermit who help him to reach the shore
• the Mariner has to pass from land to land telling people his story: in every place he has to find a new man to tell it
• the next morning the wedding guest wakes up as "a sadder and wiser man"
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STYLE
• Genre: BALLAD
• Form: DIALOGUE
• Four line STANZAS: ABCB
• 7 PARTS
• FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
• ARCHAIC TERMS
• many SYMBOLS
• REPETITIONS
• CONSONANCE / ASSONANCE / ALLITERATION
• ALLEGORIES
SETTING
-
• THE SEA
• a ships travels throughout the Arctic
• it goes to : the Atlantic Ocean; the South Pole; the Pacific Ocean; the Mariner's native country
ALLEGORIES
• The sea journey = our life journey
• the ship crew = mankind
• Mariner = Adam
• Albatross = bond between man and nature
• Albatross'killing= original Sin
• ghost ship = coming of the punishment
• Dice game = fate controlled by ethereal powers
• Lack of water = suffering we must endure for our Sin
• Mist = Evil presence
• Sun = God
MEANING
The poem is a salvation story; When the seamen hang the dead albatross around the Mariner's neck, it becomes a symbol of his sin, which he bears like a mark of shame. Ultimately, the albatross' death leads the Mariner to a spiritual epiphany and trasformation, allowing him to understand his relationship with God and nature.