Please give a summary of "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner"

it is the story of a sailor who with other crew members starts off on a voyage to the north in a calm and bight weather....then later for their bad luck the climate gets worser and a stron wind blows pushing them towards the south...the sailor is unable to handle the ship....it loses control....they reach a place fully covered with ice.....then they see an albatross which they compare to tnat of the christian soul because mmediately when the ship members see the albatross the huge ice berg whch blocks their way parts into 2...they move ahead, the climate changes slightly.....but for some specific reason the sailor kills the albatross....the crew members immediately respond to this deed by telling that the sailor has done a unforgivable mistake by killing the albatross....later the weather gets better and calm wind starts blowing which helps them move .....the members again change their opinion bu telling that killing the albatross was a sign of good luck....then later the ship enters the silent sea and eve the wind stops blowing....so they come to a standstill--like a painting--they cannot move and are surrounded by moss and algae and other aquatic plants....the food and water in the ship finishes....they are unable to even talk to each other..... for reminding the sailor of his sins an albatross is hung around his neck and he confeses his sins to every passerby......the story ends here....

the climax of this story is not given in the text book ....do you want that also.....???

hope it helps...then thumbs up...cheers!!!!

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The first two parts describe how the old sailor (Ancient Mariner), defying laws of hospitality, cruelly kills a sea bird - an Albatross, and is then haunted and followed by the spirit of Albatross.

 

In the first part of the poem, the sailor appears suddenly as three guests are about to enter a wedding feast, and stops one of the guests who is a close relative of the bridegroom. The wedding feast, with its music is already in progress, but the Mariner holds the guest first by the hand and then with his glittering eye. There is a strange compulsion in the glittering eye and in the whole mannerism of the sailor that engulfs the wedding guest who cannot choose but listen to the story.

 

The ballad begins with a ship setting sail for the South. The ship soon reaches the equator as the sun stands 'above the mast at noon'. At this point, the poet tells the reader that the wedding guest was impatient and wished to leave as he could hear the wedding music (bassoon). But then, the Mariner's bright eyes compel him to stay and listen.

 

Then the ship gets caught in a storm and with 'sloping masts' and 'dipping prow', the ship flees towards the South and reaches the Antarctic regions - the land of mist, snow and icebergs as green as emeralds. They do not sight either birds or human beings during this time till they are icebound.

 

Then, at last they sight an Albatross. They receive it with joy and think it as a messenger of god. The bird also brings further fortune. The ice, which had kept them blocked, breaks up and they sail into the Pacific Ocean. The Albatross follows the ship like its guardian spirit, and comes to the ship when the sailors call it. Then one day, the sailor (the subject of the poem) shoots the Albatross with no reason. A thoughtless deed, which now haunts him with guilt and regret.

 

In the second part, the killing of the bird brings retribution. At first, the mariners only miss the friendly bird. But soon, they blame the killing for the condition in which they are. They however, change their opinion and their fickleness is shown when they enter the more temperate climate and the glorious sun rises brightly again. All the sailors now praise him for killing the bird that had brought the fog and mist.

 

Things go on well for some time till the ship reaches the equator in the Pacific, the area of the Doldrums, where there is no wind and the current seems to go around in a circle. The terrible situation is made clear through the use of imagery and repetition. (All in a hot ..... Day after day). Using a simile, the poet describes how the ship was.. as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.. completely motionless. The situation becomes desperate as even the deep ocean seemed to be rotting and slimy things seemed to crawl on the water. This is due to large quantities of seaweed being washed into this part of the ocean, and the sea creatures feeding on it on the surface of the water.

 

The water, with its rotting creatures, is described as death fires fuelled by the witch's oils - An indication that death and destruction overtook the sailors in the ship. The sailors finally realise that their pathetic condition is because of the Mariner's crime. They decide to punish him and with parched throats and evil looks, the sailors remove the cross from the Mariner's neck and hang the dead Albatross around his neck. The bird is the symbol of his guilt and a constant reminder of his evil deed.

hope ug ot it..

 thumbzz plzz...

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Hey, google it. You'll get the summary . I studied that 4 the exam .

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thumbzz up for u all thanks a lot : )

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Summary

This poem is about the tale of an ancient mariner. The mariner is sharing his experience of a long voyage. The poem starts with the funny incident of the old sailor getting hold of young men so that he could get a receptive audience for his tale.

As many of you may have experienced, the young guys are ready to enjoy the wedding ceremony for which all have come but the old man is trying to tell them a long story of his past adventure. Such acts of telling the story of a bygone era by an elderly person usually appear quite boring to the people of younger generation.

Although the old man is unable to get hold of the young man by using the force of his frail hands, he is able to hold the listeners attention by using the glitter in his eyes. The wedding guest is probably enchanted by the gleaming eyes of the old man and hence prefers to listen to him rather than going to attend the wedding.

The old man starts with narrating how the ship was given a cheerful send off and began sailing till it disappeared below the kirk, below the hill and finally below the lighthouse top.

Since the wedding guest does not seem to be interested in all those introductions about the voyage, he is beating his breast because he can hear the sound of bassoon and also comes to know that the bride had entered the hall.

The old man explains how the sun rose from the left everyday; which means that the ship was going towards south. After a journey of some days, a monstrous storm comes and strikes the ship as if a giant bird had struck with its huge wings.

The ship nevertheless continued to move ahead as if it was trying to chase the shadow of its enemy. The front portion of the ship was dripping with water and its mast was sloping. Finally, the ship was able to escape the storm.

After the storm, the ship had to face mist and snow. It was even more risky because huge icebergs floated from near the ship. Visibility was very poor which made it very difficult to navigate. Then an albatross came from somewhere as if it was sent by the God. The albatross enjoyed the food given by the sailors and whenever a sailor gave a call it came on the ship. No matter how the season was, the albatross came everyday at a fixed time; as if trying to enjoy the life on the ship.

But one day, the old sailor shot the albatross with his crossbow.

Part II

After the albatross was killed, the sunshine returned. The poet mentions that the sun was now setting on the left; which means that the ship was on its northward journey. The south wind was blowing and the voyage was more comfortable. But no bird came to the ship to feed on the leftovers.

The old sailor was feeling a sense of getting for having killed the albatross. Many sailors abused him for killing the bird which was believed to have made the winds blow. But some other sailors felt that it was the albatross which brought the mist and snow and hence it was right to kill the wretched bird.

After that, a lull came and they had to drop down the sail. It was a deathly silence all around. Now the sun looked bloody red at the noon. The ship was as still on the ocean water as a painted ship on a painted ocean. Water was everywhere around them but they did not have a single drop of water to drink.

The waves in the moonlight appeared as if the witchs oils were burning to produce flames of various hues.

Everyone began to curse the old sailor because they believed that it was the killing of the albatross which brought all the misery to them. The old man was feeling that instead of a cross, the albatross was hung around his neck.

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