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Question
Answer the following question briefly:
Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?
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Solution
The mariners hung the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner in order to remind him of the ghasdy deed he had committed by killing the innocent bird.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Why were the mariners angry with the Ancient Mariner?
How did the mariners reach the land of ice and snow ?
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?
Here are some of the archaic words used in the poem; can you match them with the words used in modern English language that mean the same? The first one has been done for you as an example:
| stoppeth | why |
| thy | entered |
| wherefore | stopped |
| stopp'st | you |
| thou | lunatic |
| may'st | at once |
| quoth | fainting fit |
| loon | has |
| eftsoons | can't you |
| dropt | stopping |
| hath | church |
| spake | enemy |
| kirk | yes |
| paced | see |
| foe | call |
| aye | trouble |
| en | looking |
| swound | your |
| hollo | said |
| plague | dropped |
| look'st | spoke |
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:
'He cannot choose but hear' means………
Answer the following by choosing the right option from given below:
The storm blast had been described as being tyrannous because……….
Answer the following by choosing the right option from given below:
'It perched for vespers nine' means………
Answer the following question briefly.
How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?
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:
In which direction did the ship start moving? How can you say?
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?
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:
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.
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.
What were the blessings the albatross brought with itself in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ?
