The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
By-Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Based on Christian concept of sin,
repentance, punishment and redemption
The ancient marinerstopped one of the three wedding guests with his mesmerizing look
The wedding began but the wedding guest could not attend it
The wedding guest started listening mariner’s story as he had no other choice
The Ancient Mariner began his story :
“ Our ship left the port.
Everyone was in a good mood
We sailed out and watched the church, the hill, and the town lighthouse
A storm struck the ship
The storm chased the ship like a dreadful enemy to Antarctica
We start to see huge icebergs that look green in the clear water.
Our ship got lost in icebergs
there were no people or animals in sight
An albatross bird appeared
The sailors were happy to see another living creature except them
They hailed it in God’s name
the ice that had trapped them splits wide enough apart for the ship to sail through.
The sailors feed the bird, and it started following them
The ancient Mariner inhospitably killed the pious bird of good omen
Everyone on the ship went against the mariner
The weather suddenly improved, the fog and mist went away
The sailors began to blame the bird for past conditions
The weather started becoming dreadful
The wind stopped
The sun shone very brightly
Everyone felt very thirsty but they couldn’t find water. They felt that they were going to die
The ocean even as deep as nine fathoms started to "rot" from the dryness
The ship stood still as a ‘painted ship’ on a ‘painted ocean’.
Water surface turns "slimy" and gross, slimy creatures start to appear.
About, about, in reel and rout The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch’s oils, Burnt green, and blue, and white.
The mariners blamed the ancient mariner for this change
As a punishment the dead albatross was hung around his neck
The ancient mariner saw a sail coming towards them
But his mouth was too dry to utter even a single word
He bit his arm to wet his lips with his own blood and shouted.
It came from the west and the sun was setting in the westthe ship looked like a skeleton.
It was actually a Ghost Ship!
As the ship approached ,the mariner saw the crew consists of only two people: Death and Life-in-Death.
Death and Life-in-Death were playing a dice game.
Life-in-Death won
Suddenly, everyone on the ship began to die.
They don't make a fuss but kind of just slump over.
Everyone on the ship except the ancient mariner died
the eyes of the dead sailors emanate terrible curse which was worse than the curse of a little orphan
The sail went away………..
At night, the moon rose again, and the moonlight fell on the ship like frost.
He looked at the water snakes swimming in the shadow of his ship
He kind of got excited watching the snakes. He realized that those hideous snakes were kind of beautiful.
Without knowing it, he blessed the wriggly little creatures in his heart.
“ The selfsame moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea.”
The curse on the mariner broke and the albatross dropped off his neck
Not only can he pray again, but he can also sleep again.
Exhausted from all the endless cursing and dying of thirst, he falls asleep.
When he woke up it rained.The Mariner had all the water he needed.
The angels fill the bodies of dead sailors
The dead sailors rose up amid the thunder and lightning. They looked like zombies and didn't say a word but all did the jobs they were supposed to do, helping to sail the ship.
The spirits float around the ship and sing like birds.
The ship stopped and then moved with a sudden jerk that made mariner fall
He heard two voices talking to each other
The first voice was curious while the second voice was knowledgeable.
They explained how ship was moving with the help of supernatural force pushing it without wind
The Mariner ends up back at the port from which he left long ago.
The ocean returned to its normal colour.
It was a beautiful sight, and naturally, the Mariner was overjoyed.
All the dead men who had come back to life to sail the ship went back to being dead, and the angels were standing beside their bodies.
The Mariner saw a boat coming toward the ship.
The ship began to sink
A oarsman and his young crewmate were coming to rescue him.
The ancient mariner got on the boat and met the ‘Hermit’
The ship sank like lead in to the sea.
Under the water it rumbled on, Still louder and more dread: It reach’d the ship, it split the bay; The ship went down like lead.
The Mariner looked forward to the hermit clearing away his sins by asking him questions, by ‘shriving’ his soul, like a confession.
The hermit compared everything to the forest.
As soon as he told the story to the hermit, he felt a lot better.
the Mariner explained to the Wedding Guest that he often had this painful feeling that he needed to get the story off his chest, and the pain persists until he tells it.
He said that it's much better to walk to church with a friend than to go to a marriage feast. He wants to see the entire community bow down in prayer.
The Wedding Guest was totally befuddled, as if he had lost his senses He waked up the next day as "a sadder and a wiser man."
Thank You
References:-•www.shmoop.com/rime-of-ancient-mariner/
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