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NIGHT OF THE SCORPION

By Nissim Ezekiel In this poem the narrator recalls the night when his mother was stung by a scorpion. The incident took place on a rainy day, when it had rained for ten hours and the scorpion had crawled into the house. After sometime the villagers had started pouring in the house and enchanted the name of God. They searched for the scorpion with candle and lantern lights. They said that with every move of the scorpion the poison would increase in mothers blood too. They prayed that the scorpion sits still and her sufferings decrease. More and more people came but the rain didnt stop and the narrators mother kept on groaning with pain. The holy man was called who performed some rites and enchanted some mantras. The narrators father didnt believe in all this so he made some powder with herbs and put it on the bitten area. He put paraffin on it and lit a flame there. After twenty hours her pain had subsided. She only said that all should thank God that the scorpion had bitten her and spared her children.

ODE TO THE WEST WIND


By Percy Bysshe Shelley

Lines 1-14 In this first of the five sections of the poem, the speaker begins to define the domains and the powers of the West Wind. While stanza II addresses the winds influence on the sky, and stanza III discusses its effects on the sea, stanza I describes the winds effects on the land. The autumn breezes scatter dead leaves and seeds on the forest soil, where they eventually fertilize the earth and take root as new growth. Both Destroyer and Preserver (line 14), the wind ensures the cyclical regularity of the seasons. These themes of regeneration and the interconnectedness of death and life, endings and beginnings, runs throughout Ode to the West Wind. The wind is, of course, more than simply a current of air. In Greek and Latin languages with which Shelley was familiar the words for wind, inspiration, soul, and spirit are all related. Shelleys West Wind thus seems to symbolize an inspiring spiritual power that moves everywhere, and affects everything. Lines 2-3

These lines ostensibly suggest that, like a sorcerer might frighten away spirits, the wind scatters leaves. But one might also interpret leaves dead as forgotten books, and ghosts as writers of the past; in this sense, the winds of inspiration make way for new talent and ideas by driving away the memories of the old. Lines 4-5 The colors named here might simply indicate the different shades of the leaves, but it is also possible to interpret the leaves as symbols of humanitys dying masses. In this analysis, the colors represent different cultures: Asian, African, Caucasian, and Native American. This idea is supported by the phrase Each like a corpse within its grave in line 8 that could indicate that each person takes part in the natural cycle of life and death. Lines 6-7 Here, the wind is described as a chariot that carries leaves and seeds to the cold earth. This comparison gives the impression that the wind has some of the aspects of those who are associated with chariots gods and powerful rulers. Line 8 The leaves are personified as people within their graves, an image that harkens back to lines 4 and 5, where the leaves are considered as diseased multitudes of people. Lines 9-12 In Greek and Roman mythology, the spring west wind was masculine, as was the autumnal wind. Here, the speaker refers to the spring wind as feminine, perhaps to stress its role as nurturer and life-giver. She is pictured as awakening Nature with her energetic clarion, which is a type of medieval trumpet. Lines 13-14 At the conclusion of the first stanza, the speaker identifies the wind as the powerful spirit of nature that incorporates both destruction and continuing life. In fact, these two processes are said to be related; without destruction, life cannot continue. At the end of line 14 is the phrase Oh hear! that will be repeated at the end of stanzas 2 and 3. This refrain emphasizes sound, which seems appropriate given that wind, an invisible force, is the poems central subject. Lines 15-28 In stanza II, the wind helps the clouds shed rain, as it had helped the trees shed leaves in stanza I. Just as the dead foliage nourishes new life in the forest soil, so does the rain contribute to Natures regenerative cycle.

Lines 16-18 This passage has been heavily attacked by critics like F. R. Leavis for its lack of concreteness and apparently disconnected imagery; others have cited Shelleys knowledge of science, and the possibility that these poetic phrasings might indeed be based on natural fact. The loose clouds, for example, are probably cirrus clouds, harbingers (or angels as it is put in line 18) of rain. As the leaves of stanza I have been shed from boughs, these clouds have been shaken from the heavier cloud masses, or boughs of Heaven and Ocean (line 17). In Latin, cirrus means curl or lock of hair; it is thus appropriate that these clouds resemble a Maenad s bright hair (line 20) and are referred to as the locks of the approaching storm (line 23). Lines 20-23 When Shelley was in Florence, he saw a relief sculpture of four maenads. These worshipers of the Roman god of wine and vegetation, Bacchus (in Greek mythology, Dionysus) were wild, dancing women with streaming hair. Here, the speaker compares the appearance of the cirrus clouds streaked across the horizon with the maenads blown tresses. This image seems especially appropriate in that Bacchus/Dionysus is associated with the natural world and the wind and clouds are primary elements of nature. Lines 23-28 The wail of the wind is compared to a song of grief, as if it were mourning the dying year. As the year draws to a close, Nature prepares for the funeral. The coming night is described as a sepulcher, a burial tomb that will be marked by lightning and hail from a storm. This last day will end in darkness, under storm clouds. Lines 29-42 In stanza III, the West Wind wields its power over the sea; but unlike the first two stanzas, this one is introduced by an image of calm, peace, and sensuality. The Mediterranean Sea is pictured as smooth and tranquil, sleeping alongside the old Italian town of Baiae. Once a playground of Roman emperors, Baiae sunk as a result of volcanic activity and is now the bed of a lush underwater garden. But the wind can also waken (line 29) the sea and disturb the summer tranquility of the waters by ushering in an autumn storm. Lines 32-33 In 1818, Shelley himself had sailed past the Bay of Baiae; in a December letter to Thomas Love Peacock, he enthusiastically describes the ruins of its antique grandeur standing like rocks in the transparent sea under our boat. Lines 36-38

Beginning at the end of line 36, the speaker disrupts the peace of the seascape and reminds the West Wind of its power to churn up wild, white-capped surf. Lines 39-42 The lush sea foliage, which is sapless because the plants are underwater, is aware of the winds ability to destroy; remembering the havoc of cold weather storms, the vegetation is drained of color, as a person turns pale with fear, or as plant life on Earth fades in the fall. In a note to these lines, Shelley wrote: The vegetation at the bottom of the sea, of rivers, and of lakes, sympathizes with that of the land in the change of seasons, and is consequently influenced by the winds which announce it. The natural cycles of death and regeneration thus continue even underwater, with the aid of the West Wind. Lines 43-56 After three stanzas of describing the West Winds power, which are all echoed in the first three lines of Stanza IV, the speaker asks to be moved by this spirit. For the first time in Ode to the West Wind, the wind confronts humanity in the form of speaker of the poem. No longer an idealistic young man, this speaker has experienced sorrow, pain, and limitations. He stumbles, even as he asks to be spiritually uplifted. At the same time, he can recall his younger years when he was tameless, and swift, and proud like the wind. These recollections help him to call on the wind for inspiration and new life. In this manner, the poem suggests that humans, too, are part of the never-ending natural cycle of death and rebirth. Lines 47-52 In line 47, the speaker begins to explain that, as an idealistic youth, he used to race the wind and win, in his own mind. But now, as an older man, he could never imagine challenging the winds power. Lines 53-54 In these well-known lines often mocked by Shelleys detractors, the patterns of sea, earth, and sky are recalled as the speaker asks to be raised from his sorrows by the inspirational West Wind. He seems almost Christ-like in his suffering, the thorns of life recalling the crown of thorns worn by Christ during the crucifixion. Lines 55-56 The Christ-like image of the speaker continues here; his life experiences have been heavy crosses for him to bear and have weighed him down. And yet there still seem to be sparks of life and hope within him. He can still recall when he possessed many of the winds powers and qualities. Lines 57-70

If Stanza IV is the explanation of why the West Wind is being invoked, Stanza V is the prayer itself. The requests of the speaker seem to gather speed much as the wind does; while he begins by asking to be moved by the wind, he soon asks to become one with this power. As a breeze might ignite a glowing coal, the speaker asks for the wind to breathe new life into him and his poetic art. With his last question, the speaker reminds his audience that change is on the horizon, be it personal or natural, artistic or political. The lyre referred to in line 57 might be the Eolian lyre or harp, its name derived from Eolus, god of the winds. This lyre is a box with strings stretched across an opening. When the wind moves through it, the eolian harp emits musical sounds. Many Romantic writers, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his poem The Eolian Harp, used the instrument as a symbol for the human imagination that is played upon by a greater power. Here, the speaker asks to be the West Winds lyre, its means of music and communication. Lines 58-62 Here, the speaker seems to accept his sorrows and sufferings; he realizes that the winds power may allow him to add harmony to autumns music. He is still sad, but he recognizes a sweetness in his pain: he is part of a natural cycle, and will have a chance to begin again as both man and poet. The speakers growing strength is hinted at by the powerful exclamations in lines 61 and 62. Lines 63-64 The wind blew leaves over the forest floor, fertilizing the soil; now, the speaker asks the wind to scatter his timeworn ideas and writings across the earth in hopes of inspiring new thoughts and works. Note the word play on leaves, which can be found either on trees or in books. Lines 65-67 In A Defence of Poetry, Shelley wrote that the mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness. In asking the wind to fan and hopefully arouse the dying embers of his words, the speaker seems to be echoing this idea. Lines 68-69 These lines recall the angels clarion of line 10, awakening the earth from wintry slumber. The speaker here asks to become the poet-prophet of the new season of renewal. Lines 69-70 Shelley originally framed the last two lines as a statement; phrased as a question, the poem ends on a note of expectancy rather than affirmation. The speaker has made his

case and plea to assist the wind in the declaration of a new age but he has not yet received an answer. Along with his audience, he breathlessly awaits a yes, delivered on the wings of the wind.

The Frog and the Nightingale


Once upon a time a frog Croaked away in Bingle Bog Every night from dusk to dawn He croaked awn and awn and awn Other creatures loathed his voice, But, alas, they had no choice, And the crass cacophony Blared out from the sumac tree At whose foot the frog each night Minstrelled on till morning light Neither stones nor prayers nor sticks. Insults or complaints or bricks Stilled the frogs determination To display his hearts elation. But one night a nightingale In the moonlight cold and pale Perched upon the sumac tree Casting forth her melody Dumbstruck sat the gaping frog And the whole admiring bog Stared towards the sumac, rapt, And, when she had ended, clapped. Ducks had swum and herons waded To her as she serenaded And a solitary loon Wept, beneath the summer moon. Toads and teals and tiddlers, captured By her voice, cheered on, enraptured: Bravo! Too divine! Encore! So the nightingale once more, Quite unused to such applause, Sang till dawn without a pause. Next night when the Nightingale Shook her head and twitched her tail, Closed an eye and fluffed a wing

And had cleared her throat to sing She was startled by a croak. Sorry was that you who spoke? She enquired when the frog Hopped towards her from the bog. Yes, the frog replied. You see, Im the frog who owns this tree In this bog Ive long been known For my splendid baritone And, of course, I wield my pen For Bog Trumpet now and then Did you did you like my song? Not too bad but far too long. The technique was fine of course, But it lacked a certain force. Oh! the nightingale confessed. Greatly flattered and impressed That a critic of such note Had discussed her art and throat: I dont think the songs divine. But oh, well at least its mine. Thats not much to boast about. Said the heartless frog. Without Proper training such as IAnd few others can supply. Youll remain a mere beginner. But with me youll be a winner Dearest frog, the nightingale Breathed: This is a fairy tale And you are Mozart in disguise Come to earth before my eyes. Well I charge a modest fee. Oh! But it wont hurt, youll see Now the nightingale inspired, Flushed with confidence, and fired With both art and adoration, Sang and was a huge sensation. Animals for miles around Flocked towards the magic sound, And the frog with great precision Counted heads and charged admission.

Though next morning it was raining, He began her vocal training. But I cant sing in this weather Come my dear well sing together. Just put on your scarf and sash, Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash! So the frog and nightingale Journeyed up and down the scale For six hours, till she was shivering and her voice was hoarse and quivering. Though subdued and sleep deprived, In the night her throat revived, And the sumac tree was bowed, With a breathless, titled crowd: Owl of Sandwich, Duck of Kent, Mallard and Milady Trent, Martin Cardinal Mephisto, And the Coot of Monte Cristo, Ladies with tiaras glittering In the interval sat twittering And the frog observed them glitter With a joy both sweet and bitter. Every day the frog whod sold her Songs for silver tried to scold her: You must practice even longer Till your voice, like mine grows stronger. In the second song last night You got nervous in mid-flight. And, my dear, lay on more trills: Audiences enjoy such frills. You must make your public happier: Give them something sharper snappier. We must aim for better billings. You still owe me sixty shillings. Day by day the nightingale Grew more sorrowful and pale. Night on night her tired song Zipped and trilled and bounced along, Till the birds and beasts grew tired At a voice so uninspired And the ticket office gross Crashed, and she grew more morose For her ears were now addicted

To applause quite unrestricted, And to sing into the night All alone gave no delight. Now the frog puffed up with rage. Brainless bird youre on the stage Use your wits and follow fashion. Puff your lungs out with your passion. Trembling, terrified to fail, Blind with tears, the nightingale Heard him out in silence, tried, Puffed up, burst a vein, and died. Said the frog: I tried to teach her, But she was a stupid creature Far too nervous, far too tense. Far too prone to influence. Well, poor bird she should have known That your song must be your own. Thats why I sing with panache: Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash! And the foghorn of the frog Blared unrivalled through the bog

Frog and the Nightingale


By - Vikram Seth An adieu There arent any tears as we part, Neither does it pain somewhere in the heart. Your eyes speak of anger and hurt, Im glad to know, Ive too learned this art ! Of days when I looked in anticipation, Waiting,unfailing for your smallest indication. The words so tender you never bothered to hear, Preferring distance, in times we were near, Switching at whim, from intimacy to inscience Reminding consistently, this vice I must bear. The face which no more shined me with glee, Often a voice critic and culpatory. All I heard was an uneven mandate, All I felt was miserable melancholy

I chose to be free, in one of those moments, Moving beyond you, and whatever you meant. Sans regrets, for I know I was true What was false, perhaps was every second spent. You talk to me seldom, Ive changed you say, Past the timidity, reply back now I may. Youre no one to me, if you only condemn and pain, No more unqualified guilt, do I intend to gain Its not a mere fancy, that you pleasure to play Ill simply reject, and look forward to my way. No longer would it be the meek and shy, No further would I only silently comply, Its all over now, how much you may try, All youd find .. is newer dreams in these eyes Aiming high, at the vast wondrous sky, Much more to attain, I have a lot more to fly, Here I apart, its time to say Good bye Adios frog ! This nightingale refuses to die

MIRROR
By Sylvia Plath

Line 1 Were it not for its title, the opening lines of Mirror might seem to be clues to a childs riddle. Such clues quickly make it evident that the first person speaker of the poem (I) is the mirror referred to in the title. The terse, chopped phrasing of the first line, along with language such as exact and no preconceptions, help to establish the mirrors persona as blunt, honest, and unemotional. Lines 2-5 Here, Plath presents the first of several unexpectedly violent images, as she depicts the mirror immediately swallowing all it comes into contact with without regard to the emotional concerns of love and dislike. The mirrors denial of its cruelty in line 4 seems based on the proposition that truth cannot be equated with cruelty a proposition which will come under closer scrutiny in the poems final lines. This section of the poem also seems to call into question the nature of God; when the mirror calls itself the eye of a little god, Plath seems to be using the cold and unemotional reflection of the mirror as a metaphor for a distant and uncaring God.

Lines 6-9 Plaths characteristically dry humor is present in these lines, as the mirror describes how it spends its days staring at the wall it faces. But in this humorous observation is also a further hint of the mirrors meticulous and unforgiving nature, as it notes not only the walls color, but also its minor imperfections. Despite these speckles, however, the mirror seems to have formed an attachment to the wall whose image it so often reflects an image that flickers because of the passing of days and nights. Plaths choice of the word flickers a word which most people would associate with a very short-lived source of light (such as a candle or a match) to describe how the mirror views the passing of entire days, indicates how very differently the mirror views time and mortality in comparison to humans. Line 10 With the beginning of the second stanza, the poem takes on a much darker tone. The change is abruptly signaled by the presentation of a different type of mirror: the reflective surface of a lake. This recalls the mythological figure Narcissus, who fell in love with his own refection in a lake and died as a result of this impossible infatuation. Plath has good reason to use water imagery in these final lines, since it provides the same reflective qualities as the mirror, but also suggests depth, coldness, the unknown, and the threat of death by drowning. Lines 11-12 These lines seem to suggest a yearning for truth, on the part of the unnamed woman, who ponders her reflection, in search of what she really is. But paired with this yearning for truth is a willingness to reject it. Not finding the reality of her reflection to her liking, the woman turns her gaze away toward the softer, more forgiving, light of candles or the moon. Here, Plath seems to contrast the starkly accurate image of the mirror with the more romantic and less realistic (but perhaps more comforting) world of illusion. Lines 13-16 Despite the womans apparent rejection of the mirror, it continues its work of reflecting her image faithfully, even when her back is turned. Her distress at being continually drawn to her own image in the mirror, and yet being repelled by what she sees there, is made increasingly evident by her tears and agitation of hands. As the mirror understands, however, the reflected image is important to her, and each morning she is compelled to return to it. Lines 17-18

The closure to Mirror presents an example of the type of sudden, unexpectedly violent, imagery for which Plaths poetry is famous. The lake imagery is developed, as the mirror becomes a grim reminder of the womans own lost youth; it is she, the poem suggests, who had been the young girl who was drowned in the lake. Here the lake seems to represent time: it is time that has killed the young girl and turned her into an old woman. Plath then employs a rather shocking metaphor, comparing the womans reflection to a terrible fish rising from the depths of a lake: her face has been made grotesque by the passage of time. Looking back to lines 8-9, we can see that the mirror on the wall similarly represents the passage of time, marking the progression of faces and darkness. (In line 16, face and darkness are used again, in an image that suggests morning replaces the darkness another marker of time passing.) This poem, then, is like a mirror: seemingly

The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge


..Three men are on their way to a wedding reception when an old sailor stops one of them to tell him a story. So eager is the old fellow to tell his tale that he raises on hand to prevent the wedding guest from moving on. The mariner then begins the storyThere was a shipbut is unable to continue because the wedding guest angrily orders the mariner to cease blocking his way. .......But after the old man lowers his hand, the guest cannot continue on, for he is hypnotized by the mariners glittering eye. Like a three-year-old child eager for a wonderful story, the guest sits on a rock and listens. .......The mariner says the ship sailed southward on the Atlantic Ocean with a fair wind. The sun rose from the sea, crossed the sky, and sank in the west in its daily ritual as all went well while ship sailed onward day after day. Even though the wedding guest hears music from the nearby wedding celebration, he keeps his attention riveted on the old mariner and his tale. .......Alas, a great storm came, the mariner says, driving the ship farther south as it passed through mist and snow to a land of ice, Antarctica. Everywhere the crewmen looked they saw ice. Then, out of the fog, a great sea bird appearedan albatross. And, wonder of wonders, the ice around the ship cracked, and the ship picked up a wind and sailed north. The albatross, therefore, was a good omen. It came to the ship every day, answering the mariner's hollo! It played. It ate of the crewmens food. During the evening religious services, called vespers, it perched on a mast or a rope. .......Then one day, the mariner shot the bird with his crossbow. The rest of the crew condemned his cruel act, saying he had killed the bird / That made the breeze to blow. However, when the fog disappeared and the sun shone gloriously, they approved the act, saying he had killed the bird / That brought the fog and mist. And so, the crew became partners in his crime. .......But not long afterward, the sails fell as the air grew still. Day after day, under a boiling sun, the ship hardly moved. It was As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean. And the men thirstedin the middle of an ocean with water everywhere. They saw slimy creatures crawling on the sea, and at night they beheld a fire dancing on the ropes and chains that control the masts

an ill omen. (Sailors at sea often saw this phenomenon, known as St. Elmos fire. It is electricity discharged from pointed objects, such as masts, during storms. The phenomenon can also be seen on land on trees or towers that rise to a point. Today, it can also be seen in the air on wings and propellers of aircraft.) Blaming the mariner for their woes, the crewmen hung the dead albatross around his neck. .......As each man weakened with thirst and fatigue, the mariner beheld a sign in the skya mere speck that grew into a mist and took shape upon its approach. It appeared to be a ship. The men were heartened. But what kind of ship moves without a wind? When the sun was setting, the vessel drew near and revealed itself as a ghostly skeleton ship with only two crew members. One was a specter womanLife-in-Deathwith red lips, yellow hair, and white skin. The other was her mate, Death. They rolled dice for the crewmen, and Death won everyone except the ancient mariner. He was the prize of Life-in-Death. .......All the crew200 menthen dropped dead one by one, all except the mariner. Their souls flew by him, to heaven or hell, like arrows shot from a crossbow. The wedding guest interrupts the narrative at this point to express his fear of the mariner. After all, the old man could also be a departed soul, a ghost. But the mariner assures him that he is flesh and blood, then continues his tale. .......Now he was alone on the ocean with only slimy sea creatures to keep him company. He tried to pray but failed. The lifeless crewmen, meanwhile, looked up at him with a never-changing gaze, fixed by death. For seven days and nights, he endured their gaze. During this time, at night in the moonlight, he watched the water snakesblue, glossy green, and velvet blackswim and coil. Their sleek beauty touched him, and he found himself blessing them. He also found that he was able to pray; in short, he was beginning to regret shooting the albatross. Suddenly, the albatross fell from his neck and sank into the sea. And then the mariner slipped into a gentle sleep, for which he thanked Mary, the holy Mother who is Queen of heaven. When he awakened, rain was falling and wind was roaring. Although the wind did not reach the ship, the ship began to moveand the dead crewmen rose to man the shipsteering, tugging the ropes. The body of his brothers son helped him pull on a rope, though he spoke no words. .......The wedding guest again interrupts to express his fear. But the mariner again calms him and resumes the story, as follows. At dawn, the ghostly crewmen let loose the ropes and made a sweet sound mingled with the songs of birds. It was an angelic symphony. The ship sailed on. A spirit, it seemed, was moving the ship. Then the ship began to rock and boband suddenly lurched forward, causing the mariner to fall in a faint. When he came to, he heard two spirit voices. One asked whether this was the man who shot the albatross. The other, confirming that it was, said the mariner had done penance for his wrongdoing but still had more penance to do. .......The ship began to sail northward at such a great speed that the mariner went into a trance. When the mariner woke up, the ship was sailing gently onward. All the dead crewmen were standing together, staring at the mariner. A windlike a gale across a meadow in the spring began to blow, tousling the mariners hair and cooling his cheek. The ship picked up speed and soon the mariner saw a lighthouse, a hill, and a church. It was his native land at long last. .......The water in the harbor bay was calm, reflecting the light of the moon. On the ship, the corpses were no longer standing but lying lifeless and flat. Over each body was a seraph (an angel), giving off a heavenly light that could be seen on the shore. Soon a boat came rowing forth carrying a Pilot, the Pilots boy, and a Hermit good singing hymns. The Hermit, who lived in woods near the sea and knelt on moss to pray, loved to talk with sailors from afar. When the boat drew close, the mariner heard them say that the ship looked strange. It hath a fiendish look, the Pilot said. Suddenly, the ship sank, rumbling down and leaving the mariner floating helplessly. But in a moment he was in the Pilots boat, which whirled round and round. When seeing the mariners face, the Pilot fell down in a fit and the Hermit prayed. The mariner took up oars and began rowing. At that, the boy laughed, observing that the Devil knows how to row. .......After the boat reached land, the mariner begged the Hermit to hear his confession and absolve him of his sins. What manner of man art thou? the Hermit said. And the mariner told him his tale. Since that the time, the mariner says, he has felt a compulsion to travel from land to land. It is his penance. Whenever he remembers his experience at seathe terror of it allhe must

stop someone to tell him his story in order to relieve his agony. He knows at a mere glance which man he must single out to listen to the tale. .......The wedding celebration continues while the mariner hears a vesper bell calling him to prayer. It is far sweeter to him to pray to God, he says, than it would be to enjoy the pleasure of a wedding celebration. The mariner notes that a man prays best who loveth best / All things both great and smallthat is, who loves all of the things that God created. .......The mariner then walks on. So does the wedding guest, as if stunned. But he is a sadder and wiser man.
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Characters
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Ancient Mariner Old sailor who roams from country to country to tell a strange tale. Wedding Guest Man on the way to a wedding reception with two other men. The mariner singles out the wedding guest to hear his tale. Two Hundred Crewmen Ill-fated members of the ship carrying the mariner. Pilot Boatman who rescues the mariner. (A pilot is an official who guides ships into and out of a harbor.) Pilots Boy Pilots assistant. Hermit Holy man who absolves the mariner and hears his story. Albatross Large, web-footed sea bird with a hooked bill. Most species of albatrosses wander the southern seas, from tropical regions down to Antarctica, drinking sea water and feeding on squid, cuttlefish, and other small sea creatures. Sometimes, they follow ships to feed on their garbage. Albatrosses have an astonishing ability to glide in the wind, sometimes for hours, but have difficulty staying aloft without a wind. In the latter case, they sit on the water to rest or sleep. When it is time to breed, they go ashore. An old superstition says killing an albatross brings bad luck, although sailors have been known to kill and eat them. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has helped make this superstition common knowledge throughout the world among landlubbers as well as sailors. In modern parlance, a person or an event that brings bad luck is often referred to as an albatross.

Setting
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The time is the late Middle Ages. The places are as follows: (1) a street or byway in a locale with a hall in which a wedding reception is being held; (2) a sailing ship with 201 crew members, including the ancient mariner; (3) the Atlantic Ocean; (4) the South Pole; (4) the Pacific Ocean; (5) the mariners native country (undisclosed). The atmosphere is ghostly, preternatural, mysterious.
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Themes
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Theme 1 Man is a sinful creature, but redemption awaits him if he repents his wrongdoing and does penance. This theme manifests itself as follows: First, the ancient mariner kills the albatross, committing a sin. Then, during his terrifying experience, he has a change of heart and is sorry for his sin. Finally, after confessing to the Hermit, he carries out a penance, which is to travel the world and tell his tale to strangers. Theme 2 Man should respect all of Gods creation, of which the albatross is a part. In doing so, he respects the Creator Himself. Theme 3 Guilt and justice hound sinners until they repent their wrongdoing. In The Rime of the

Ancient Mariner guilt and justice appear in the form of strange natural phenomena, as well as spirits. Theme 4 All creatures great and small are worthy in some way. The mariner discovers that even the snakes of the ocean can be beautiful.

Date of Publication, Sources


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The poem was published in 1798, then revised and published in 1817 in the version that is popular today. Sources used by Coleridge include superstitions, folk tales, and real-life sea voyages in which crews had bad luck or sailed to mysterious lands. Coleridge also received help from the poet William Wordsworth. The editors of Major British Writers, a literature anthology, explain Wordsworth's contribution: Originally, Coleridge and Wordsworth intended to write this poem in collaboration. Wordsworths manner proved unsuited for the purpose, however, and after contributing half a dozen lines [Part II, Lines 13-16 and Lines 226-227] and suggesting the shooting of the albatross and the reanimation of the dead bodies to work the ship, Wordsworth withdrew, and Coleridge proceeded alone.G.B. Harrison, general ed. Major British Writers. Shorter edition. New York: Harcourt, 1967, Page 592.

Structure, Rhyme, and Meter


Coleridge divides the poem into seven parts. Most of the stanzas in the poem have four lines; several have five or six lines. In the four-line stanzas, the second and fourth lines usually rhyme. In the five- and six-line stanzas, the second or third line usually rhymes with the final line. The meter alternates between iambic tetrameter (with four feet per line) and iambic trimeter (with three feet per line). Following is an example (the first four lines of Part II) of a stanza with this pattern: .......1...............2..............3...........4 "The SUN | now ROSE | upON | the RIGHT: ......1...........2..............3 Out OF | the SEA | came HE, ......1............2.............3............4 Still HID | in MIST, | and ON | the LEFT .........1...............2...........3 Went DOWN | inTO | the SEA.

Main Symbols
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The Ancient Mariner as Adam Adam committed the original sin that brought woe upon mankind. The original sin in this context is the killing of the albatross. The crewmen are inheritors of the mariners original sin, just as Christians are inheritors of Adams original sin. As the mariner says, "And I had done an hellish thing, And it would work 'em woe." The Ancient Mariner as Christian Sinner When the ancient mariner kills the albatross (described in the poem as a holy thing hailed in Gods name"), he is like the Christian who commits sins for which Christ died on the cross. Crossbow as Christ's Cross The mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow, a weapon with the same shape as the cross on which Christ died.

Ghost Ship as Wages of Sin The ghostly skeleton ship carries Death and Life-in-Death. Death, of course, is a consequence of original sin. Life-in-Death is the loneliness, the separation from God, that a sinner encounters before dying. Pilot The boat Pilot rescues the mariner after the ship sinks, representing the saving grace of a merciful God. Hermit The Hermit represents redemption. He hears the mariner's confession and pronounces a penance, requiring the mariner to tell his tale the world over to warn others of the consequences of sin. Wedding Celebration Everyday life that continues merrily without its participants' full knowledge and respect of the higher rules of the universe. As part of his penance, the mariner educates one of the wedding guests about the importance abiding by the laws of God. The scene of a wedding celebration is, of course, an excellent place for the mariner to tell his story. After all, a marriage is a beginning, and new life will come from it. Will the newlyweds and their children abide by God's laws? Or will they thoughtlessly shoot albatrosses? Perhaps the wedding guest who walks on at the end of the poem will pass on his new insights to the bride, the groom, and others at the wedding feast.
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Poem as Frame Tale


Note that the author begins the poem by telling the reader about an ancient mariner who stops a man on the street to recite a story. After getting the mans attention, the mariner then tells his tale. Thus, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is like a framed painting. The frame represents the author telling about the mariner; the painting represents the mariner telling his story. The mariner sometimes quotes another person, such as the Pilot. However, the Pilot is not a narrator, since he is merely speaking dialogue and not telling a story.
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Climax
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The climax of the poem occurs when the mariner has a change of heart and the albatross falls from his neck.
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Imagery
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The poem is rich in figures of speech. Here are several examples: Alliteration The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast, For he heard the loud bassoon. Simile With Alliteration The bride hath paced into the hall,.................[hath, hall: alliteration] Red as a rose is she....................................[Red as a rose: simile with alliteration] Personification/Metaphor The Sun came up upon the left,.....................[Sun referred to as "he": personification; all personifications are also metaphors] Out of the sea came he ! And he shone bright, and on the right Went down into the sea.

Paradox and Irony With Alliteration Water, water, every where,............................[water, water, where: alliteration] And all the boards did shrink ; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink....................................[It is ironic and paradoxical that water is everywhere but none of it can be drunk] Synecdoche With Alliteration and Personification/Metaphor The western wave was all a-flame...................[wave: synecdoche, because wave refers to the entire ocean] The day was well nigh done!...........................[western wave was: alliteration] Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright Sun. . . ....................[wave rested: personification/metaphor]

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Vocabulary Words From the Poem

Charnel-dungeon A charnel is a place that contains corpses; a dungeon is a dark prison beneath a medieval castle. Hence, a charnel-dungeon is an underground place for the dead. Clifts Cliffs Clomb Climbed Corse Corpse; dead body Death-fires St. Elmos fire Eftsoons Immediately; now; at once Fathom Depth measurement equaling 6 feet (1.8288 meters) Gossameres Cobwebs Gramercy Expression of thanks or surprise Jargoning Chattering; singing Ken Know Kirk Church Line Equator, the imaginary circle around the earth that divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Mast Tall structure rising from a ship to support sails, ropes, booms, etc. Minstrelsy Group of musicians Pilot Boatman who guides ships into and out of harbors Rigging Ropes that support and position masts Rood Old English word for cross, referring to the cross on which Christ was crucified; crucifix at the entrance of a chancel, the space around an altar that is reserved for clergymen or choir members. Seraph Member of the highest-ranking order of angels, the Seraphim Shrieve Shrive, which means to hear the confession of a sinner

Shroud Ropes or wires connected to a mast on both sides to keep in from swaying sideways Swound Swoons; faints Thorough Through Tod Bush of ivy or some other plant Wist Past tense of wit, meaning know; hence, wist means knew.

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