Semantic level

Alliteration: Alliteration is a literary device which begins with same

sounding letters, of
Consonant in two or more words. As a deliberately phonological device it
emphasizes on
Specific sound.
These alliterated words are strongly stressed or accented syllable so that
make rhythmic
pattern .
E.g. He holds him with his skinning hand (Line 31)

Anaphora: Anaphora is the repetition of a word or words at the

beginning of phrases,
clauses or lines to create sonic effect. It is a rhetoric device or a technique
.Another use
to persuade anaphora is used for the purpose of generating particular
effects by repetition.
The ice was here, the ice was there
The ice was all around. (Line 59-60)

Irony: Irony is a figure of speech where the intended meaning of words

is different from the
actual meaning of the words. It may be situation that may be end up in
quite a different than
what is expected e.g.
Water, water, everywhere
Nor any drop to drink (Line 190192)
Coleridge uses situational irony. The irony that ship surrounded by water,
but the sailors cannot drink the salty water. It helps to emphasize just how
dreadful situation was for the sailors.

Metaphor: Metaphor draws comparison between two things their

similarities and shared traits. The purpose of using a metaphor is to take
an identity or concept that we understand clearly (second subject) and
use it to better understand the lesser-know (first subject)
They coild and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire (Line 281-282)
Coleridge explains first subject. The line which sea snakes make by
passing here compare to second subject which is Golden fire, now this
comparison give more understandable meaning.
More usually, metaphor is common figure of speech when words are used
in metaphoric
senses a reference is made or mapped to another on the basis of some
similarity between
two things. e.g.
. each turned his face with a ghastly pang
And cursed me with his eyes (Line 215-16)

Coleridge compares eyes to the curse, now it is clear that sailors

cursed mariner who paves
similarity between eyes and cursed. It helps to understand the eyes of the
sailors.This
example reveals metaphor is device which makes sense of relatively
complex, abstract or
unfamiliar in terms of more familiar.
Another powerful example metaphor is used:
An orphans curse would drag to hell
A spirit from on high
But oh! More horrible than that
Is the curse in a dead mens eye (257)
This compares an orphans curse to the curse of a man who has died with
his eyes open and
cursing. So Coleridge give abstract image of died sailors eyes which are
not less miserable
then orphans curse.

Onomatopoeia: the term refers towards whose very sound very close
to the sound they are is meant to depict. In other words, it refers to sound
words whose pronunciations to actual sound or noise they represent. E.g.
. It crackd and growld, and roard and howd (line-61)
The word in bolds are onomatopoeia when we pronounce they portray the
sounds of actions they represent Coleridge hadnt used much
onomatopoeia but sometimes he used as in part II stanza 5 brust,
drip or in part III whizz of my crossbow kill the albatross.

Personification: It is figure of speech which ascribes the animate

qualities (life, thoughts,
Feelings, etc) to things or abstract notion (ship as skeleton) therefore,
personification is
to metaphor and allegory but slightly different from the human element.
E.g.
. And hark the little vesper bell,
Which biddeth me to prayers?
The poet is personifying the bell, portraying it as something that willfully
calls people to come
and pray. In reality is just a ringing sound the people know as a signal.
Coleridge uses personification more by giving abstract qualities to the sun
as:
As if through a dungeon-grate he
With broad and burning face
The suns behavior as the all sailors become thirsty because sun is
become hot as it knows
the situation

Simile: It draws parallels or comparisons between two unrelated and

dissimilar things. By

using similes a greater degree of meaning and understanding is attached,

similes are marked
by the use of the words as, such or like
Coleridge uses similes frequently in rime of ancient mariner. E.g
Red as rose is she (Line 34)
As if it had been a christen should (Line 65)
like Gods own head (Line 97)
Fear at my heart as a cup
My life-blood seemed to sipe(Line 204)
Like whizz of my crossbow( Line 223)
Like life less tool

Her skin was white as leprosy,

The night mare, life in death was she.
In these lines the poet is comparing the appearance of the supernatural
female known as life in death to a diseases, leprosy of impending doom
for mariner.

Imagery: Coleridge uses beautiful language in Rime of ancient mariner

through imagery. For
example: where the sailors find them in middle of ocean, Coleridge
describes their situation
with clear imagery, he wrote.
Water, water everywhere
And all the boards did shank
Nor any drop to drink
These words create visual effects that how desperate situation was there
for sailors. They are
surrounded by water on all sides without any hope of survival. So this
picture has much more
than words.
Furrow follow tree (Line 25)

The weather was good everyone enjoys but the weather changes the wind
dies and ship cant
move , Coleridge give imagery of dried ship like a motionless painting
he uses simile to
the ship.

While the things start to go bad for the crew, the suns color is compared
to blood and more.
All in a hot cooper sky
The blood sun, at noon.
Coleridge uses imagery when he describes water snakes.
I watched their rich attire
Blue, gloomy, green and velvet black (Line-1632)
Coleridge uses very lengthily description while describing water creatures,
through this he conveys specific images in the readers mind. Such writer
has a lot of power over the reader and this beauty of Coleridges writing.

Hyperbole: hyperbole is a literary device wherein the author uses

specific words and
phrases that exaggerate the basic statement in order to give more effects.
Hyperbole is
usually not real but it just helps to focus on specific actions or thing.
E.g. As a idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean (Line- 117-18)

The hyperbole is used because it stretches the truth so that we
understand about the boat
Another example of hyperbole is:

Water, water everywhere.

Nor any drop to drink (line- 121-22)
He used hyperbole in which exaggerates lack of water he describes that
there is no water for drink in huge sea.

Importance of rhetoric devices

The effective rhetoric devices bring life to the words and phrases, these
words bring beauty
in readers mind and reader can understand the term in visual way. E.g. in
The rime of Ancient
mariner. When Coleridge uses number of figures of speech which makes
images in ones
mind , it becomes understandable each color even facial expression. e.g.
Her lips were red
her looks were free, Coleridge emphasizes on color of life-in-death
through his use of figures
of Speech ,we easily understand the physical look of life-in-death.
Through rhetoric devices Coleridge makes reading of his poem so much
interesting, One can
Feel what author feels one can see what the author see, as Coleridge
writes slimy water
snakes and We also see them by reading his poem, we are like with
Coleridge as we
experience with him Sense of fear but the arrival of skeleton ship, we
become frustrated by
the curse on sailors We feel sense of anger over mariner by killing
Albatross. This all is
because the author guides through rhetoric devices.
Dr.Alec Gil l says to think or speak poetically is to adopt a distorted
stance toward the
Ordinary world. It is analyzed in a Rime of Ancient mariner as Coleridge
takes us to
the world of supernatural creatures, author totally cut from real world for
sometimes.
Figurative Language is the one of the features that gives literature its
distinctiveness in the
form of Imagination, it affect intellectual part in order to achieve some
special meaning and
effect.
E.g. the wedding guest sat on a stone

He cannot choose but hear.

The wedding guest was frustrated by mariner who left specific effect over
him. The mariner is
compelled to repeat his story because he lacks authentic listeners, the
authentic readers who
understand it would understand humanity in the poem A rime of ancient
mariner.

References:
1. Post: Traumatic parataxis and the search in Coleridges A rime of
ancient mariner by Fred pickoff Jan, 21, 2011
2. R.meter: Translator journal volume 52 June 2007- p, 309-326
3. https//www.enotes.com