summary of the rime of ancient mariner part1

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An old sailor stopped one of the three people passing by, who asked: “Old man, with your long grey beard and glittering eye, why are you stopping me? The bridegroom’s doors are open and I am one of the next family members. The guests have arrived, the feast is set. Can’t you hear the merriment?”

The sailor held him with his skinny hand and said: “There was a ship.” The wedding guest, disgustingly said, “Let go of me, you lunatic person,” and dropped his hand.

However, the sailor captivated his attention with his glittering eye; the wedding guest stood still. He was all ears to the old sailor, just like a three years old child, because now the mariner had his will.

The wedding guest was left with no choice but to listen to the ancient sailor. Thus began the narration of the ancient mariner. “There was a loud cheer on board, and the harbor has clear, for the sun to rise above the church, the hill, the lighthouse.

The sun came up upon the left and shone bright all day, and set on the right, going down the sea. The sun rose higher and higher everyday till it touched the mast on noon.”

The Wedding Guest beat his breast in impatience because he could hear the loud musical instrument being played.

The bride had started walking down the hall. She was as red as the rose. Before her went a merry procession of singers and musicians.

The wedding guest didn’t have a choice but to hear. Thus continued the mariner: “Then came the storm, severe and strong. The storm overtook them, and chased the ship southwards.

The cruel torturous ways of the storm is described here. The storm blew harsh, yelled and chased them towards south. The ship’s steer hung low.

They witnessed both mist and snow. The weather became wondrous cold with ice everywhere as bright and clear as emerald.

The floating ice and steep sides of the ice-bergs formed a dismayed sheen, that is, a smooth bright surface of ice.

There was ice all around them. The ice cracked, growled, roared and howled, like noises of a person in a fainting fit.

Then, the albatross arrived through the fog. It was hailed in God’s name, as a Christian soul.

It ate the food it had never eaten and flew round the ship. Then, a miracle occurred, when the ice cracked and the helmsman could steer the ship through the ice.

Throughout their journey down south, the albatross followed them, and everyday, came for food or play, at the call of the mariners. The nights turned to become “glimmered” like “the white moonshine.”

Part 1 of the poem concludes with the ancient mariner possessing an ill omen about the albatross. This part of the narration gave the ancient mariner a troubled look. When asked the reason for the same by the wedding guest, the mariner let it out and revealed the terrible truth that he shot the albatross.

@ishanisaha

The ship sailed northward into the Pacific Ocean, and although the sun shone during the day and the wind remained strong, the mist held fast. The other sailors were angry with the Ancient Mariner for killing the Albatross, which they believed had saved them from the icy world by summoning the wind: "Ah wretch! Said they, the bird to slay / That made the breeze to blow!" Then the mist disappeared and the sun shone particularly brightly, "like God's own head." The sailors suddenly changed their opinion. They decided that the Albatross must have brought the must, and praise the Ancient Mariner for having killed it and rid them of the mist: "Twas right, said they, such birds to slay, / That bring the fog and mist."

The ship sailed along merrily until it entered an uncharted part of the ocean, and the wind disappeared. The ship could not move, and sat "As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean." Then the sun became unbearably hot just as the sailors ran out of water, leading up to the most famous lines in the poem: "Water, water, every where, / And all the boards did shrink; / Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink." The ocean became a horrifying place; the water churned with "slimy" creatures, and at night, eerie fires seemed to burn on the ocean's surface. Some of the sailors dreamed that an evil spirit had followed them from the icy world, and they all suffered from a thirst so terrible that they could not speak. To brand the Ancient Mariner for his crime and place the guilt on him and him alone, the sailors hung the Albatross's dead carcass around his neck.

t, eerie fires seemed to burn on the ocean's surface. Some of the sailors dreamed that an evil spirit had followed them from the icy world, and they all suffered from a thirst so terrible that they could not speak. To brand the Ancient Mariner for his crime and place the guilt on him and him alone, the sailors hung the Albatross's dead carcass around his neck.

A thoughtless deed results in a lifetime of guilt and repentance. This is evident in the Mariner's strange compulsion to narrate the story to a passerby. Sometimes, a seemingly simple mistake can mete out a life-long punishment, which might not equate to the crime committed. The poet wishes to emphasise the importance of coexistence between man and animal. They need each other and must help each other.

· The very description of the ancient mariner and the look in his eyes, his skinny hands lend the supernatural element to the poem right at the beginning.

·There is more to his "glittering eye" than mere madness, as he is able to compel the Wedding Guest to listen to his story with the fascination of a three-year-old child. Although he is clearly human, the Ancient Mariner seems to have a touch of the otherworldly in him.

· The emergence of the Albatross from the mist, and the sailors revering it as a sign of good luck, as though it were a "Christian soul" sent by God to save them.

· The mariner is hounded by disaster and supernatural forces after killing the albatross

· Clearly tries to make the supernatural elements of the poem appear as integral parts of the natural world.

· His underlying theme is that all things that inhabit the natural world have an inherent value and beauty, and that it is necessary for humanity to recognize and respect these qualities.

· The initial descriptions of the ship and its crew are fairly realistic, but as the ancient mariner undergoes his quest for understanding and redemption, the supernatural world increasingly engulfs him.

· His world becomes nightmarish when contrasted with the realistic world that he has left behind.

· For much of the poem, the mariner is adrift in the middle of the ocean, symbolically cut off from all human companionship. The mariner kills the albatross whose spirit takes its revenge on all the mariners. They face utter drought in spite of water being everywhere. The ship is becalmed- As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean.

· Sailors’ senses assaulted with huge icy forms, terrifying sounds, and bewildering echoes.

· Supernatural beings appear in the poem as symbolic or allegorical figures, representing the forces of nature, life, death, and retribution.

· The mariner confronts these figures and must ultimately appease them in order to obtain his salvation.