The Rime of the Ancient Marinerp. 422

Form

• Ballad– Medieval form of poetry intended to be

sung– Narrative poem in short stanzas– Uses repetition of words and sounds

(alliteration and assonance) for dramatic effect

– Balladic effects enhance sense of spiritual stagnation/isolation

Form

• Seven-Part Structure– Seven—Biblical number of

completion

– Traces spiritual cycle of crime, punishment, redemption

– Mariner as Christ figure—bringing spiritual truth to community

Form

• Frame Narrative– Provides credibility through real-world

setting—wedding feast

– Provides credibility through “everyman” character—wedding guest

Form

• Frame Narrative– Provides credibility through real-world

setting—wedding feast– Provides credibility through

“everyman” character—wedding guest

– Introduces themes of central narrative—community vs. individualism/isolation

Central Narrative: Setting

• Community– Village and church

– Spiritual and physical communion left behind

– Individual ambition vs. community

Setting

• Stormy Sea– Drives ship to South Pole

– Spiritual turmoil leading to isolation

Setting

• Antarctic—South Pole– Cold, ice

– Isolation

– Stagnation

Setting

• Equator– Hot, withering

– Thirst

– Stagnation

Setting

• Return to Community and Broader World– Pilot and Pilot’s Boy—horrors of

human evil

– Hermit—personal expiation

– Tale told from “land to land”—human redemption, community

Characters/Creatures

• Albatross– Bird of good omen for sailors

– Rescues ship from isolation

– Symbolizes redemptive force of community

– Christ symbol—love and sacrifice

Characters/Creatures

• Why did the Mariner kill the Albatross?– Jealousy?– Selfish ambition/desire for

independence?– Defiance of God and community?– Irrational, destructive act representing

human capacity for evil

Characters/Creatures

• Ship’s Crew– Blame Mariner

– Blame Albatross

– Represent Mariner’s guilt, isolation—human guilt, isolation

Characters/Creatures

• Death and Life-In-Death– Sunset/Darkness—approaching

spiritual death

– Curse in dead crewmen’s eyes—guilt

– Life-In-Death—punishment for willful isolation

Characters/Creatures

• Water Snakes/Ocean Creatures– Mariner recognizes he is not alone

– Represent love & community of all living things

– Bring spiritual communion (blessing, prayer) and redemption

Characters/Creatures

• Angelic Spirits– Animate bodies of dead crewmen

– Return ship to community

– Light imagery—spiritual enlightenment

– Represent desire for community, recognition of unity with God’s creation