Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
1. What can you see in the picture? Does the man look happy? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Why does he have the bird hanging around his neck?
3. Have you heard of the expression-'having an albatross around your neck'? What do you
think it means? Does it mean:
a. something that you can always be proud of
b. something that you have to do because you have no choice
c. something that is with you all the time as a reminder that you have done something wrong?
4. What is an albatross?
Advertisements
Solution
(a) I can see a man with a dead albatross hanging around his neck. The man seemed deeply distressed and repentant over his deed.
(b) The bird is a reminder of his evil action and symbolises a punishment for the sin he had committed.
c. something that is with you all the time as a reminder that you have done something wrong?
(d) An albatross is a white ocean bird with very large wings. It symbolises a thing that causes anxiety concern.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
What was the crime committed by the mariner?
Why does the ancient Mariner compel the wedding guest to listen to his story?
How did the mariners reach the land of ice and snow ?
How were the mariners saved from the land of ice and snow?
Using the words given above rewrite PART I of the poem in your own words. The first stanza has been done as an example:
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?
An old sailor stopped one of the three people passing by, who asked: "Old man, with your long grey beard and glittering eye, why are you stopping me?"
Answer the following by choosing the right option from those given below:
The Ancient Mariner stopped one of the three wedding guests because…………
Answer the following by choosing the right option from those given below:
'The sun came up upon the left, /Out of the sea came he;'This line tells us that the ship………………….
Answer the following by choosing the right option from given below:
The sailors felt depressed on reaching the land of mist and snow because……
Answer the following by choosing the right option from given below:
The two things that happened after the arrival of the albatross were ……
Answer the following question briefly.
How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?
Answer the following question briefly.
Describe the ancient mariner.
Answer the following question briefly.
How does the mariner describe the movement of the ship as it sails away from the land?
Answer the following question briefly:
Why does the mariner say that 'no sweet bird did follow'?
Answer the following question briefly:
How did the other mariners behave towards the Ancient Mariner at first? How many times did they change their mind about the Ancient Mariner? What does this tell us about their character?
Answer the following question briefly:
What is the irony in the ninth stanza? Explain it in your own words.
Answer the following question briefly:
Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.
The poem is full of strange, uncanny or supernatural elements. Discuss how these elements appear in the poem. You should consider:
- the strange weather;
- the albatross as a bird of "good omen"
- the spirit from "the land of mist and snow''
- the strange slimy creatures seen in the sea
- the ocean appearing to rot
- the death fires and sea water being referred to as witch's oil
Now write a paragraph about the supernatural elements in the poem and how they add
to the events that take place in the poem.
This is a very dramatic poem, excellent for reading aloud or even dramatising. The class should be divided into groups and given the different dramatic moments from the poem to be performed as follows. Some of them are given below:
- the first storm that they encounter
- the time spent in the land of mist and snow
- the coming of the albatross and the subsequent events till they move out
- the killing of the albatross till they reach the silent seas
- the suffering of the sailors in the hot region till they hang the albatross around the Ancient Mariner's neck.
