(a) An orphan's curse .......... I could not die.
REFERENCE
(i) Poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(ii) Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Part IV (Lines 258 - 263)
(ii) Content:
An ancient Mariner detains a Wedding Guest to narrate the story of a sailor. During a voyage, the sailor kills an albatross. This crime invites sufferings. After much suffering, he understands the oneness of God's creation and blesses the water snakes. This marks the breaking of the curse. However, the avenging spirit imposes a heavy penance on him. Finally the ship sinks and the sailor is saved in a pilot's boat. Ever since that day, the sailor rooms from land to land to relate his story.
EXPLANATION
In these lines the poet says that the curse of a murdered man is worse than the curse of an orphan. A curse is an appeal to a supernatural power or prayer for evil or misfortune to befall someone or something. An orphan, being a child deprived of one or both parents, is very dear to God. Any maltreatment or cruelty to this child may result into a curse. This curse is very powerful. It can drag even a blessed spirit from heaven to hell. However, the curse of a murdered man is more horrible than that of an orphan's. All members of the Mariner's crew except for the Mariner himself die for briefly condoning the shooting of the albatross. The eyes of the dead sailors are fixed on the Mariner with blame. The Mariner saw the curse in their eyes for seven days and nights but he could not die. No doubt, the Mariner has begun to understand and accept his responsibility for their deaths. In short, an orphan's curse can cause death but the curse of a murdered one can cause life-in-death.
In these lines the poet says that the curse of a murdered man is worse than the curse of an orphan. A curse is an appeal to a supernatural power or prayer for evil or misfortune to befall someone or something. An orphan, being a child deprived of one or both parents, is very dear to God. Any maltreatment or cruelty to this child may result into a curse. This curse is very powerful. It can drag even a blessed spirit from heaven to hell. However, the curse of a murdered man is more horrible than that of an orphan's. All members of the Mariner's crew except for the Mariner himself die for briefly condoning the shooting of the albatross. The eyes of the dead sailors are fixed on the Mariner with blame. The Mariner saw the curse in their eyes for seven days and nights but he could not die. No doubt, the Mariner has begun to understand and accept his responsibility for their deaths. In short, an orphan's curse can cause death but the curse of a murdered one can cause life-in-death.
(a) It is an ancient .......... stopp'st thou me?
REFERENCE
(i) Poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(ii) Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Part I (Lines 1-4/626)
(ii) Content:
An ancient Mariner detains a Wedding Guest to narrate the story of a sailor. During a voyage, the sailor kills an albatross. This crime invites sufferings. After much suffering, he understands the oneness of God's creation and blesses the water snakes. This marks the breaking of the curse. However, the avenging spirit imposes a heavy penance on him. Finally the ship sinks and the sailor is saved in a pilot's boat. Ever since that day, the sailor rooms from land to land to relate his story.
EXPLANATION
In these lines the poet describes the Mariner's detaining a guest on his way to a wedding. The Mariner is the central figure of the poem. There is a strange sense of mystery about him. It is not proper to use "it is" when referring to a human being. However, Coleridge uses the phrase to introduce his Mariner has the effect of transforming him from a man of flesh and blood into something akin to a force of nature. The word 'ancient' conveys the two-fold sense of 'old' and 'of old time'. The Mariner stops one of the three Wedding Guests. The number 'three' is one of the numbers to which a mystical or supernatural significance has been attached. The main features of this Mariner are his grey beard and glittering eyes. The grizzled beard shows the old age of the Mariner. However, his glittering eyes are hypnotic. He holds the attention of the Wedding Guest with his eyes. The Wedding Guest asks him why he is detaining him. The protest of the Wedding Guest is truly dramatic and introduces and element of action.
(b) And I had done .......... the breeze to blow.
REFERENCE
(i) Poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(ii) Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Part II (Lines 91-94/626)
(ii) Content: An ancient Mariner detains a Wedding Guest to narrate the story of a sailor. During a voyage, the sailor kills an albatross. This crime invites sufferings. After much suffering, he understands the oneness of God's creation and blesses the water snakes. This marks the breaking of the curse. However, the avenging spirit imposes a heavy penance on him. Finally the ship sinks and the sailor is saved in a pilot's boat. Ever since that day, the sailor rooms from land to land to relate his story.
EXPLANATION
In these lines the poet describes the self-awareness of the ancient Mariner for his crime and the condemnation of his shipmates for the crime. The ancient Mariner has killed an albatross with his cross bow. Now he comprehends the evil of his act and the coming punishment. So he says that he has done a 'hellish thing'. He also realizes that his crime will also affect his shipmates. This will bring misfortune to all of them. On the other hand, his shipmates also cry out against the ancient Mariner. They all assert that he has killed the bird which had made the favourable wind to blow. For them, the bird was an agent of life and luck. It allowed them to continue their journey and survive. In short, Man is a sinful creature, but redemption awaits him if he repents his wrongdoing and performs penance.
(c) Are those her ........ the Woman's mate?
REFERENCE
(i) Poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(ii) Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Part III (Lines 185-189/626)
(ii) Content:
An ancient Mariner detains a Wedding Guest to narrate the story of a sailor. During a voyage, the sailor kills an albatross. This crime invites sufferings. After much suffering, he understands the oneness of God's creation and blesses the water snakes. This marks the breaking of the curse. However, the avenging spirit imposes a heavy penance on him. Finally the ship sinks and the sailor is saved in a pilot's boat. Ever since that day, the sailor rooms from land to land to relate his story.
EXPLANATION
In these lines the poet describes a spectre-ship and its crew. This ship has ribs like bars of a grate. In other words, the ship looks like a skeleton. The mysterious ship sails in front of the setting sun, and rather then blocking out part of the sun completely, it just looks like the sun has bars in front of it. The ship's skeletal appearance contributes to the poem's creepy vibes. The crew of this skeleton ship comprises of two figures. One is male and the other is female. Male is the personification of Death. Death here represents complete death. The other is its bride. It is the personification of "Life-in-Death". It represents a state of death that exists in life. In short, these lines are replete with supernatural elements and create an atmosphere of fear and horror.
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