The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

These are just three points to write about on each section of the poem. Parts Four and Six have more on them because they haven't been in an exam yet, so are more likely to come up this year.

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  • Created by: Megan
  • Created on: 13-04-11 12:57

Part I

  • Setting: 'land of mist and snow' 'below the kirk','the ice...growled and roared and howled'- Hell. Links to supernatural 'glittering eye'.
  • Language of religion and the supernatural: 'kirk', 'glittering eye', 'Christian soul', 'God's name'.
  • Structure: regular 4-line stanzas, except in 11, when the 'storm-blast' hits.
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              Part I

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Part II

  • Sun & Moon motif: 'The Sun now rose upon the right'- earlier it was the left. Aggression: 'hot and copper sky', 'bloody Sun'. No Moon in this part.
  • Irony: 'water water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink', 'idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean'- loosening grip on reality, romanticism.
  • Pagan and religious symbols: 'O Christ!', 'witch's oils', 'in dreams assured'. Punished for paganism.
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              Part II

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Part III

  • Mimetic: repetition of 'weary'. Hard sounds- 'black lips baked', 'bit'.
  • Sun & Moon motif: the ghost-ship 'drove suddenly betwixt us and the Sun', 'as if through a dungeon-grate he peered'.
  • References to 'heart' and 'blood': shows
  • the fragility of life, power of supernatural. 'Who thicks man's blood with cold', 'my life-blood seemed to sip'.
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Part III

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Part IV

  • Sun & Moon motif: Sun- eyes 'like pulses beat'. Moon- 'my kind saint took pity on me'. Sun/Moon- changing perspective. Moon- 'I blessed them unaware'.
  • Imagery: aligns AM with 'slimy things'- he is 'wicked'. Then sees their 'beauty'- becomes 'charmed'- redemption. Water-snakes: 'glossy','velvet','golden'- civilised. Catholic?
  • Turning point: redemption. Endings of parts 1-3- guilt. Part 4- 'the albatross fell off'. 'Fell like lead into the sea'- sea burial, respect.
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             Part IV

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Part V

  • Religious language: 'still my body drank'- baptism. Redemption- 'I was so light','blessed ghost'. No reported fear/emotion: now has faith.
  • Sun & Moon motif: Sun- 'it flung the blood into my head'. Moon- 'the lightning fell with never a jag', 'the Moon was at its edge'. Protective influence.
  • Wedding Guest: distances reader, mirrors the reader's response- 'I fear thee, Ancient Mariner'. WG's role in poem- frame narrative.
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              Part V

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Part VI

  • Dark and morbid language: 'grim','charnel-dungeon','curse'.Unnatural. 'Bright eye' of God/ Mariner's 'glittering eye'. Foreshadows 'still I could not die'- supernatural. Emphasised by 'voices'. Builds tension.
  • Sun & Moon motif: Sun conspicuous by absence. Moon- 'shadow of the moon', 'in the moonlight did glitter'. 'The harbour bay was clear as glass'- reflective.
  • Beginnings and endings: tense shift- past/present/future- suggests end of poem/ journey. 'The spell was snapt'. 'Spring' contrasts with 'land of mist and snow'- Mariner has changed. Circular- same setting as Part I, Wedding-Guest in both.
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             Part VI

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Part VII

  • The Hermit: 'kneels at morn and noon and eve'- unaffected by Sun & Moon/supernatural. Religion cannot stop the 'woeful agony' of supernatural punishment.
  • The Wedding- Guest: order is never restored for him- loss of identity. Frame narrative- represents the reader. 'Sadder and wiser'.
  • Setting: reflects earlier events. 'Skeletons of leaves','the Devil knows how to row','alone on a wide wide sea'. Everything that has happened has changed the Mariner.
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            Part VII

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Comments

Anne Smith

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really good!

Annabella W

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Thanks :) I really like some of your ideas and they are pretty helpful for a starting point!

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