1
Rime of the Ancient Mariner Pt. 3by Samuel
Taylor Coleridge(1772-1834)

• Presented by
• Shuntaria Davis
• Alicia Dixon

2
Introduction

• Rime of the Ancient Mariner Pt. 3by Samuel
  Taylor Coleridge
• (1772-1834)

3
About Samuel

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Ottery St
  Mary. After his father's death Coleridge was sent
  away to Christ's Hospital School in London and
  also studied at Jesus College. In Cambridge
  Coleridge met the radical, future poet laureate
  Robert Southey.
• Coleridge's collection Poems On Various Subjects
  was published in 1796, and in 1797 appeared
  Poems. In the same year he began the publication
  of a short-lived liberal political periodical The
  Watchman. He started a close friendship with
  Dorothy and William Wordsworth, from it resulted
  Lyrical Ballads, which opened with Coleridge's
  "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and ended with
  Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey".
• Suffering from neuralgic and rheumatic pains,
  Coleridge had become addicted to opium. During
  the following years he lived in London, on the
  verge of suicide. He died in Highgate, near
  London on July 25, 1834.
• MLA
• "Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Biography and Works.
  Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss." The
  Literature Network Online Classic Literature,
  Poems, and Quotes. Essays Summaries. Web. 07
  Feb. 2011. lthttp//www.online-literature.com/coler
  idge/gt.

4
The Poem

• There passed a weary time. Each throatWas
  parched, and glazed each eye.A weary time! a
  weary time!How glazed each weary eye,When
  looking westward, I beheldA something in the
  sky.
• At first it seemed a little speck,And then it
  seemed a mistIt moved and moved, and took at
  lastA certain shape, I wist.
• A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!And still it
  neared and nearedAs if it dodged a
  water-sprite,It plunged and tacked and veered.
• With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,We
  could not laugh nor wailThrough 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 callGramercy! 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 wealWithout a breeze, without a
  tide,She steadies with upright keel!
• The western wave was all a-flameThe day was well
  nigh done!Almost upon the western waveRested
  the broad bright SunWhen that strange shape
  drove suddenlyBetwixt 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 SunDid
  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 goldHer skin was as white as
  leprosy,The Night-Mare 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 outAt one
  stride comes the darkWith 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 whiteFrom
  the sails the dew did drip--Till clombe above
  the eastern barThe horned Moon, with one bright
  starWithin the nether tip.
• One after one, by the star-dogged MoonToo 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 CROSS-BOW!

5
Poem Paraphrased

• Stanzas 46-51
• When the ship approaches, Death and
  Life-in-Death are playing a game. (Please be
  Parcheesi, please be Parcheesi.) They are playing
  dice (no!) to decide who will gain the upper
  hand.
• We have the feeling that the fate of the Mariner
  and his friends rests on this dice game.
• We have a winner Life-in-Death! She's just won
  power over a bunch of raggedy, thirsty sailors.
  She's probably wishing she had gone on The Price
  is Right instead that dinette set is looking
  pretty good right about now.
• But nothing happensyet.
• Night falls, and the mysterious Ghost Ship
  ("spectre bark") sails away.
• Everyone is waiting to see what will happen.
  Coleridge plays the scene like a suspense movie,
  complete with dew going drip-drip from the sails.
  The partial moon rises, and it looks like a
  "horn," or, if you prefer, a smiley face. One of
  the "horns" of the moon has a star next to it.
  This seems to be a bad sign, for some reason.
• Suddenly, everyone on the ship begins to die.
  They don't make a fuss but kind of just slump
  over. However, they do make sure to curse the
  Mariner with their eyes before they go.
• There are 200 men on the boat besides the
  Mariner, and they all die. Their souls escape
  their dead bodies and shoot past the Mariner like
  the crossbow with which he shot the Albatross.

• Stanzas 35-40
• They have spent a long time drifting on the
  ocean with no wind or water, and everyone is sick
  of it. Then one day, the Mariner sees something
  coming from the west as in, the opposite
  direction as the Mariner's sweet home England.
• He can't decide whether the thing is a small
  "speck" or a more spread-out "mist." The shape
  starts to come into focus and he became aware
  ("wist") of what looked like. It moves around in
  zigzag fashion as if escaping supernatural
  forces. Hey, join the club.
• The speaker finally realizes what it is, and he
  wants to shout, but his mouth is too dry. His
  lips are sunburned and caked with dried blood.
  When you're as talkative as the Mariner, you know
  its trouble when you're so dehydrated that you
  can't speak.
• Fortunately, he has a solution that would make
  the guy from the Survivor Man TV show proud. He
  bites his arm to wet his lips with his own blood,
  just enough so that he can shout
• He shouts that he sees a sail.
• His crewmates are so happy that they shout
  "gramercy!" meaning, "Thank heavens!"
• The ship is coming their way. Maybe their crew
  will have water.

Stanzas 41-45 The sun is setting in the west, and
the ship is approaching from the west. Here
Coleridge provides a complicated image to
illustrate how the ship is really get ready for
it a Ghost Ship! Here's the image the
mysterious ship sails in front of the setting
sun, and rather than blocking out part of the sun
completely, it just looks like the sun has bars
in front of it. In other words, the ship looks
like a skeleton. The ship's sails aren't normal
sails you know, the kind that can hold wind.
Instead, they look like tattered spider webs, or
"gossamers." Its hull looks like ribs. Worst of
all, he can now see that the crew consists of
only two people Death and Life-in-Death. Well,
shoot. We imagine death as the hooded guy with
the sickle, or something like that, while
Life-in-Death is a woman who appears relatively
normal except for her pale, diseased-looking
skin.
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Part III
Summary." Shmoop Study Guides Teacher
Resources. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. lthttp//www.shmoop.c
om/rime-of-ancient-mariner/part-3-summary.htmlgt.
6
Diction

• The language used by this poet is formal,
  concrete, vivid, and obsolete.
• It creates vivid expressions and innovative ideas
• The etymology of words, such as wist and
  unslaked, are important to the meaning of the
  poem.

7
Tone Mood

• The atmosphere created by Coleridge is very
  serious and suspenseful. He speaks with a very
  strong tone. Its somewhat spine chilling and
  creepy, yet at the same time he makes sure to be
  very straight forward.
• There is no irony.

8
What is the rhetorical situation implied by the
poem ?

• The Mariner is speaking to the rest of the crew
  members. Theyve been drifting on the ocean and
  finally the speaker notices another ship but
  fails to realize its a Ghost Ship of
  Life-In-Death. Suddenly everyone begins to die
  and their souls escape their bodies.

• The reader is being spoken to directly not
  overhearing the speaker or being ignored by it.

9
Figurative Language

• Similes- And every soul, it passed me by, Like
  the whizz of my CROSS-BOW! Her locks were
  yellow as gold Her skin was as white as
  leprosy Are those her sails that glance in
  the Sun, Like restless gossameres
• Metaphor- her looks were free
• Personification- It plunged and tacked and
  veered. (a speck) 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 Night-Mare 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
  clombe 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
  CROSS-BOW!

10
Imagery

• He describes the ship when he talks about it
  appearing as a little speck.
• He broadly describes the atmosphere around him.
• Life-In-Death Her lips were red, her looks
  were free, Her locks were yellow as gold, Her
  skin was as white as leprosy...
• Symbolism- ship coming at them describes the
  death approaching
• Their souls escaping their bodies and shooting
  past the Mariner symbolizes the way in which the
  crossbow shot the Albatross.

11
Sound .

• Rhyme scheme- ABCB
• Repetition- he repeats some words
• Ex. See! See!, A sail! A sail!, Ive won!
  Ive won! etc.
• Alliteration
• -ex. The western wave was all a-flame
• There isnt any cacophony or euphony sounds
  really because he doesnt use any harsh or
  pleasing sounds.

12
Poem Structure

• Its standard formed
• It consists of many stanzas
• Formal structure
• Rhyme pattern- ABCB

13
Evaluation

• Coleridge did a good job with getting his point
  across. He was straightforward with everything,
  which played a role in the creating the mood so
  you wouldnt have to be very skeptical. His
  strongest elements will have to be the way he
  worded the poem and it was well thought out.
  Overall he did a good job with the process of
  writing the poem.

14
Personal Reaction .

• We didnt really enjoy the poem because it seemed
  pointless. It was heavily worded with difficult
  words and hard to understand. In no way, shape,
  or form did it relate to us, but more power to
  Coleridge )
• THE END .