Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Answer the following question briefly.
Describe the ancient mariner.
Advertisements
Solution
The ancient mariner is the narrator in the poem. He is an old sailor who has a long grey beard and glittering eyes. He seems to be frighting with unnaturally skinning hands that held the wedding guest. He seems be a sociable guy before undertaking that fateful trip down to the Arctic. His life undergoes a major change as he shoots an albatross. He suffers from guilt and remorse for having killed the albatross. He repents his action and his penance continues through the rest of his life as he feels the urge to share his story with whoever he meets.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Respect for all forms of life is an essential value. Unmindful destruction of nature and its creatures deserves just punishment. Write in 80−100 words this essential value as brought out in the poem, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'.
How did the mariners reach the land of ice and snow ?
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 wedding guest remarked that he was 'next of kin' It meant that ……..
Answer the following by choosing the right option from given below:
'God save thee, ancient Mariner, /From the fiends that plague thee thus!- Why look'st thou so?' means……….
Answer the following question briefly.
How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?
Answer the following question briefly.
Was the wedding guest happy to be stopped? Give reasons for your answer.
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:
In which direction did the ship start moving? How can you say?
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:
How does the mariner describe the fact that they were completely motionless in the middle of the sea?
Answer the following question briefly:
Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.
Answer the following question briefly:
Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?
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.
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?
What were the blessings the albatross brought with itself in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ?
Imagine that the mariner hears of Mrs Packletide’s hunt and decides to share some advice with her about the impact of wilfully killing creatures. As the mariner, write this letter, in about 150 words, to Mrs Packletide, based on the consequences following your own experience of having killed a creature intentionally.
