Table of Contents
- 1 Why is the frame of the poem that of a wedding Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
- 2 What do the sea bird albatross and the ghost ship symbolize in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
- 3 Why is the Ancient Mariner forced to wear the albatross around his neck?
- 4 What is the outer narrative of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
- 5 How Samuel Taylor Coleridge uses the symbolism of shooting an albatross in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
- 6 What does the ghost ship symbolize in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
- 7 Why is it important that the wedding guest be prevented from attending the wedding?
- 8 What is the albatross around the neck?
Why is the frame of the poem that of a wedding Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
The frame story allows readers to experience the Mariner’s tale and to witness the Wedding Guest’s response to it. Readers are privy to both stories. This is key to understanding why Coleridge has the Mariner tell his story to the Wedding Guest and thus to the reader.
What do the sea bird albatross and the ghost ship symbolize in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
In maritime lore these birds were seen by sailors both as a sign of good luck and as a bad omen. Sailors often thought the albatross carried the souls of dead sailors that would protect the ship or bring good winds, but just as often they thought the bird to be a death omen—a sign that a sailor would soon die.
Why should it matter that the man stopped was on his way to a wedding The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
The mariner wants him to stay and listen to his long story. The mariner actually is holding the wedding guest to prevent him from leaving. The mariner is the winner in the end, because he compels the young man to listen to his entire story and succeeds in creating the impression he wants to make on him.
Why is the Ancient Mariner forced to wear the albatross around his neck?
albatross (a)round (one’s) neck The phrase refers to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, in which the narrator kills an albatross—a large white bird deemed an omen of good fortune. This act is thought to curse his ship, so he must then wear the albatross around his neck.
What is the outer narrative of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
The outer frame engages the reader, who, in a sense, becomes the wedding guest. The reader, as the guest, is compelled to hear the story regardless of his other desires or obligations. The reader must sit and listen “as a three years’ child” (Rime I, 15) to the mariner’s horrifying tale.
What is the frame story of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a ballad, is told as a frame story. Frame story: a story told within a story. In other words, one story is told during the action of another story. The inner stories usually act as an example to the other characters (it teaches them something).
How Samuel Taylor Coleridge uses the symbolism of shooting an albatross in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
The living albatross is a symbol of God’s creation and of innocence. The dead albatross is a symbol of sin. When the Mariner kills the albatross, the other sailors see this as a sign of bad luck and fear, rightfully, that their dangerous voyage will be cursed and run into trouble.
What does the ghost ship symbolize in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
The ghost ship, which Death and Life-in-Death arrive in, is simply symbolic of retribution, death, evil, and punishment. The crew of the mariner’s ship might be compared to the wedding party. The rime is also the mariner’s story (his penance of having to retell his story), the “rhyme”/poem itself.
Why do you think Coleridge has the mariner tell his story to a wedding guest and not directly to us as readers?
Coleridge wanted his poem to be spoken by a fictitious narrator in order to avoid giving the impression that he was speaking about an experience of his own. He invented the ancient mariner for this purpose. The fact that this eccentric character seems so authentic adds to the verisimilitude of the long tale.
Why is it important that the wedding guest be prevented from attending the wedding?
In the poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the ancient mariner wanted to confess his sin to someone. He stopped the wedding guest to listen to his tale as the guest was transfixed by his hypnotic gaze and was, thus, left with no option but to listen to his tale.
What is the albatross around the neck?
An annoying burden: “That old car is an albatross around my neck.” Literally, an albatross is a large sea bird. The phrase alludes to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” in which a sailor who shoots a friendly albatross is forced to wear its carcass around his neck as punishment.