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Question
After you have read the poem, discuss the following questions in your groups:
i. Why did the Ancient Mariner stop the particular wedding guest to listen to his tale?
ii. Why did he have to tell his tale to someone?
iii. What is the poet trying to convey through this poem?
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Solution
(i) The ancient mariner was feeling himself burdened with the crime of killing the albatross. Other mariners also felt that the ancient mariner was responsible for their suffering. They hung the albatross around the ancient mariner’s neck as a reminder of his sin. Now in order to lighten his burden, he stopped the wedding guest to narrate to him his tale of woe.
(ii) The Ancient Mariner stopped a man on his way to a wedding function to narrate his experience at the sea. Though there was no particular reason for the Ancient Mariner to stop the wedding guest, yet there seemed a kind of moral suggestion to love all men and birds equally. He did not want others to meet the same fate as he had.
(iii) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a balled. Through this poem, Coleridge conveys a message to get close to God through prayer. The Ancient Mariner committed a sin that was rebuked by all. The Ancient Mariner relieved himself of his psychological burden by telling his tale to the wedding guest. The poet associates himself with Ancient Mariner to tell this allegorical poem in order to convey a powerful message to respect all the creatures of the world.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
What was the crime committed by the mariner?
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Answer the following by choosing the right option from those given below:
The Ancient Mariner stopped one of the three wedding guests because…………
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'He cannot choose but hear' means………
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The sailors felt depressed on reaching the land of mist and snow because……
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'It perched for vespers nine' means………
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'God save thee, ancient Mariner, /From the fiends that plague thee thus!- Why look'st thou so?' means……….
Answer the following question briefly.
What kind of weather did the sailors enjoy at the beginning of their journey? How has it been depicted in the poem?
Answer the following question briefly.
How did the sailors reach the land of mist and snow?
Answer the following question briefly.
What was the terrible deed done by the Mariner? Why do you think he did it ?
Answer the following question briefly:
How did the sailing conditions change after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow? What or who did the mariners blame for this change?
What is indicated by the line ‘The bloody sun, at noon,/Right up above the mast did stand,/No bigger than the moon’?
Answer the following question briefly:
What or who did the mariners feel was responsible for their suffering?
Answer the following question briefly:
Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.
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.
What were the blessings the albatross brought with itself in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ?
