August 19, 2021: Difference between revisions

From Gerald R. Lucas
m (Grlucas moved page The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to August 19, 2021: Changed my mind.)
(Added through part 2.)
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From the fiends, that plague thee thus!— {{ln|80}}
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!— {{ln|80}}
Why look’st thou ”—With my cross-bow
Why look’st thou ”—With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross.
I shot the Albatross.{{refn|The [[w:Albatross|albatross]] is a symbol of good luck, but [[w:Albatross (metaphor)|in ''Rime'']] it becomes symbolic of a psychological burden.}}
</poem><br /><br />
</poem><br /><br />
|-
|-
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The Sun now rose upon the right:{{refn|The ship has rounded Cape Horn and now heads north into the Pacific Ocean.}}
The Sun now rose upon the right:{{refn|The ship has rounded Cape Horn and now heads north into the Pacific Ocean.}}
Out of the sea came he,
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Still hid in mist, and on the left {{ln|85}}
Went down into the sea.
Went down into the sea.


Line 119: Line 119:
But no sweet bird did follow,
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariners’ hollo!
Came to the mariners’ hollo! {{ln|90}}


. . .
And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay {{ln|95}}
That made the breeze to blow!
 
Nor dim nor red, like God’s own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist. {{ln|100}}
’Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.
 
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free:
We were the first that ever burst {{ln|105}}
Into that silent sea.
 
Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
’Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea! {{ln|110}}
 
All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.
 
Day after day, day after day, {{ln|115}}
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
 
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink; {{ln|120}}
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
 
The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs {{ln|125}}
Upon the slimy sea.
 
About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires{{refn|This could be referencing the phosphorescence of the decomposing sea creature in line 123, or [[w:St. Elmo's fire|St. Elmo’s Fire]]: an atmospheric discharge along a ship’s rigging that has bad portents.}} danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white. {{ln|130}}
 
And some in dreams assured were
Of the spirit that plagued us so:
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.
 
And every tongue, through utter drought, {{ln|135}}
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.
 
Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young! {{ln|140}}
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
</poem>
</poem>
|}</div>
|}</div>
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{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{2021}}
[[Category:08/2021]]
[[Category:08/2021]]
[[Category:Poetry]]
[[Category:Poetry]]
[[Category:Annotated]]
[[Category:Annotated]]

Revision as of 16:48, 20 August 2021

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
By: Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798)[1]
Part 1

An old mariner stops a group on their way to a wedding. The leader of the group listens to the mariner’s story. The mariner’s tale starts out with calm seas and a happy crew, but a sudden storm and strange weather change the mood. The mariner’s actions upset the crew.

It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
“By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp’st thou me?

The Bridegroom’s doors are opened wide, 5
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May’st hear the merry din.”

He holds him with his skinny hand,
“There was a ship,” quoth he. 10
“Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!”
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

He holds him with his glittering eye—
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years child: 15
The Mariner hath his will.[a]

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone:
He cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner. 20

“The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the light-house top.

The Sun came up upon the left, 25
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.[b]

Higher and higher every day,
Till over the mast at noon—” 30
The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,
For he heard the loud bassoon.

The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she;
Nodding their heads before her goes 35
The merry minstrelsy.

The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast,
Yet he cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner. 40

“And now the storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o’ertaking wings,
And chased south along.

With sloping masts and dipping prow, 45
As who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of his foe
And forward bends his head,
The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast,
And southward aye we fled. 50

And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.

And through the drifts the snowy clifts 55
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken
The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around: 60
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!

At length did cross an Albatross:
Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul, 65
We hailed it in God’s name.

It ate the food it ne’er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through! 70

And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The Albatross did follow,
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariners’ hollo!

In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, 75
It perched for vespers nine;
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white Moon-shine.”

“God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!— 80
Why look’st thou ”—With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross.[2]



Part 2

The conditions at sea improve, causing the crew to change their opinion of the mariner. When the conditions change for the worse the crew force the mariner to wear the dead albatross as a sign of guilt.

The Sun now rose upon the right:[3]
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left 85
Went down into the sea.

And the good south wind still blew behind
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariners’ hollo! 90

And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay 95
That made the breeze to blow!

Nor dim nor red, like God’s own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist. 100
’Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free:
We were the first that ever burst 105
Into that silent sea.

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
’Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea! 110

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.

Day after day, day after day, 115
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink; 120
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs 125
Upon the slimy sea.

About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires[4] danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white. 130

And some in dreams assured were
Of the spirit that plagued us so:
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.

And every tongue, through utter drought, 135
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.

Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young! 140
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.


Commentary

  1. The Mariner has mesmerized the wedding guest: think of it like a kind of hypnotism. This is the first hint of the supernatural forces at work in the poem and the mariner himself.
  2. A whole stanza to show the ship was headed south.

Notes and References

  1. The text and introductions are from Coleridge, S. T. (1798). The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. London: A. Arch, Gracechurch Street.
  2. The albatross is a symbol of good luck, but in Rime it becomes symbolic of a psychological burden.
  3. The ship has rounded Cape Horn and now heads north into the Pacific Ocean.
  4. This could be referencing the phosphorescence of the decomposing sea creature in line 123, or St. Elmo’s Fire: an atmospheric discharge along a ship’s rigging that has bad portents.