English Literature - AQA - Rime of the Ancient Mariner

PART 1

PART 1

• WHY DOES HE ONLY STOP ONE IN THREE? TARGETED-THERE IS A REASON HE NEEDS TO SPEAK TO THE WEDDING GUEST
• THE MARINER IS CHARISMATIC ' GLITTERING EYE'
• FIRST 4 STANZAS IN 3RD PERSON - WEDDING GUEST IS THE AUDIENCE TO MARINER'S SPEECH NOT US. THIS ALLOWS US TO BE OBJECTIVE WHEN LISTENING TO THE MARINER'S TALE AS WE DO NOT HAVE TO LEARN FROM IT.
• MARINER'S TALE IN 1ST PERSON- PARABLE AND DETAILED LESSON HE HAS LEARNT.
• 'NOON' IS SIGNIFICANT AS IT IS THE WITCHING HOUR.
• ANTHROPOMORPHISM - POSSESSION OF ANIMAL CHARACTERISTICS: ' O'TAKING WINGS', 'CRACKED AND GROWLED, ROARED AND HOWLED'
• SIMILE,' AS GREEN AS EMERALD'
• REPETITION, ' THE ICE WAS HERE, THE ICE WASTHERE, THE ICE WAS ALL AROUND'. - EMPHASIS ON ICE CREATES A GOTHICSETTING.
• EMPHASIS ON RELIGION -  THE RELATIONSHIP BEWTWEEN GOD AND MAN WAS SIGNIFICANT TO ROMANTICS.
• 'SHROUD'- GARMENT WORN BY DEAD PEOPLE - FORESHADOWING

PART 2

PART 2

• PRSONIFICATION, 'GOOD SOUTH WIND STILL BLEW', 'LIKE GOD'S OWN HEAD', 'SILENCE OF THE SEA!'. SUN - RELIGIOUS EMPHASIS, ALLITERATION OF S SOUND EMPHASISES THE SILENCE.
• REPETITION, 'BIRDS TO SLAY' - EMPHASISES SIGNIFICANCE. THE COLLUSION OF THE OTHER SAILORS MAKES THEM AS GUILTY AS THE MARINER. 'DAY AFTER DAY, DAY AFTER DAY' - EMPHASISES MONOTONY. 'WATER, WATER, EVERY WHERE' - WATER IR IRONIC AND EMPHASISES THEIR LACK OF WATER.
• 'AS IDLE AS A PAINTED SHIP' - IMAGE OF LACK OF PROGRESSION.
• STANZA 10 - EMPHASISES THE MARINER'S HATRED OF NATURE.
• ALLITERATION, 'REEL AND ROUT' - UNEASINESS OF THE MARINER IN HIS SITUATION.
• OXYMORON, 'THE WATER, LIKE A WITCH'S OIL' - WATER AND OIL CAN'T COMBINE, SHOWS UNEASE OF SITUATION.
• ALBATROSS A LITERAL OR METAPHORICAL BURDEN? DOES IT REALLY HANG AROUND HIS NECK? DIRECT COMPARISION SHOWS-ALBATROSS IS A JESUS LIKE FIGURE.

PART 3

PART 3

• REPETITION, 'A WEARY TIME! A WEARY TIME!' - SO TIRED, CANNOT THINK OF NEW WORD. 'LIKE THE WHIZZ OF MY CROSSBOW!' - mARINER CAN SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HIS ACTIONS AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE MEN.
• 'CURSED ME' - SUPERNATRUAL, GOTHIC.
• 'I BIT MY ARM, I SUCKED THE BLOOD' - GOTHIC AND DEPRAVED IMAGERY.
• RELIGIOUS REFERENCE, 'CASTING DICE' - ROMANCS CAST DICE TO DIVIDE JESUS' BELONGINGS.
• 'MY LIFE-BLOOD SEEMED TO SIP!' - MARINER IS TRANSCENDING INTO A LIMBO STATE.
• IDENTIFIESTHE SHIP AS SUPERNATURAL BECAUSE IT SAILS WITHOUT A BREEZE - IT DEFIES NATURE.
• PERSONIFICATION, 'AS IF THROUGH A DUNGEON-GREATE HE PEERED' - SUN, GOTHIC IMAGERY. 'HER' - OF THE SHIP. THERE IS PERSONIFICATION OF STATES OF BEING. 'STARS RUSH OUT'- STARS.
• OXYMORON IN THE DESCRIPTION OF LIFE-IN-DEATH.

PART 4

PART 4

• FIRST 2 STANZAS - BREAKFROM THE STORY WITHIN A STORY.
• REPETITION, 'GLITTERING EYE' - EXTENDED METAPHOR. 'ALONE, ALONE, ALL, ALONE, ALL ALONE' - LONELINESS.'ROTTING' - NEGATIVE IMAGE OF NATURE, SIMILAR TO DEATH - REPULSES HIM.
• 'AND A THOUSAND THOUSAND SLIMY THINGS' HATRED OF NATURE.
• ALLITERATION, 'WICKED WHISPER' - W SOUND SHROUDS IT IN SECRECY. 'ROT AND REEK' - REINFORCES REPULSION.
• STANZAS 12-13 - MARINER BEGINS TO APPRECIATE NATURE.
• 'AND I BLESSES THEM UNAWARE' - APPRECIATING NATURE MEANS THAT THE MARINER IS ABLE TO PRAY.
• 'THE ALBATROSS FELL OFF, AND SANK LIKE LEAD INTO THE SEA', LITERAL OF METAPHORICAL? THIS IS A MOFIT THAT WILL BE REPREATED LATER IN THE POEM.

PART 5

PART 5

• 'MARY QUEEN' - VIRGIN MARY.
• 'I THOUGHT THAT I HAD DIED IN SLEEP, AND WAS A BLESSED GHOST' - HE IS HAPPY ABOUT THE IDEA OF DEATH BECAUSE IT WILL RELEASE HIM FROM THIS LIVING DEATH.

PART 6

PART 6

• THE SPIRITS DESCRIBE THAT THE SHIP IS SAILING AT A SPEED TOO QUICKLY FOR HUMANS TO ENDURE.
• 'GLITTER' - REPEATED MOTIF.
• 'THE PANG, THE CURSE, WITH WHICH THEY DIED, HAD NEVER PASSED AWAY' - THE CURSE RETURNS WITH THE MARINER UNABLE TO PRAY.
• 'SNAPPED' - THE CURSE BREAKS
• ALLITERATION, 'SWIFTLY, SWIFTLY, SWEETLY, SWEETLY' - S SOUND EMPHASISES MOVEMENT.
• 'IS THIS MINE OWN COUNTRY?', THE MARINER RETURNS HOME.
• 'SHONE BRIGHT', THE MARINER'S HOME IS REPRESENTED BY LIGHT - SAVIOUR?
• 'CRIMSON', 'CRIMSON SHADOWS'- CRIMSON IS A RELIGIOUS COLOUR - COLOUR OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
• 'HE'LL SHRIVE MY SOUL, HE'LL WASH AWAY THE ALBATROSS'S BLOOD' - SHRIEVE - FORGIVENESS.

PART 7

PART 7

• STANZA 2 - THE HERMIT WORSHIPS AT NATURE AND IS THEREFORE THE ANTITHESIS OF THE MARINER.
• 'STRANGE, BY MY FAITH', THIS DEMONSTRATES THAT THE HERMIT IS THE OPPOSITE TO THE MARINER.
• STANZA 6, 'THE DEVIL KNOWS HOW TO ROW', 'WHAT MANNER OF MAN ART THOU' - THE REACTION OF THE PILOT, HIS BOY AND THE HERMIT DEMONSTRATE THE GOTHIC/SUPERNATURAL APPEARANCE OF THE MARINER.
• 'THE SHIP WENT DOWN LIKE LEAD', REPETITION OF MOTIF - LOSS OF GUILT.
• STANZA 11 AND FIRST TWO LINES OF 12 - THE REACTION OF THE PILOT AND HIS BOY ARE SIMILAR TO OURS AS THEY ARE THE ONLY CHARACTERS SIMILAR TO OURSELVES. EMPHASISES THE FACT THAT THE HERMIT IS THE ANTITHESIS TO THE MARINER - HE COMBATS HIS THROUGH PRAYER.
• STANZA 15-17, THE MARINER REALISES HIS FATE. HE IS DESTINED TO TRAVEL THE EARTH TELLING HIS TALE TO THOSE WHO NEED IT. IT IS ONLY THEN THAT HE IS GIVEN A MOMENTARY REPRIEVE.
• STANZA 22-23, THIS IS THE MORAL OF THE STORY - TO LOVE GOD AND BE LOVED, YOU MUST LOVE ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES.
• 'A SADDER AND A WISER MAN HE ROSE THE MORROW MORN', WEDDING GUEST IS WISE BECAUSE HE HAD LEARNED A LESSON BUT SAD BECAUSE HE HAD TO LEARN IT.