| Question (1): |
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and
glittering eye, How wherefore
stopp'st thou me?
Where are the three men going? (Stanza 1)
|
| Answer: The three men are the guests going to the wedding of a relative. |
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| Question (2): |
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and
glittering eye, How wherefore
stopp'st thou me?
Describe the Mariner. (Stanza 1)
|
| Answer: The Mariner is fearsome. He has a long grey beard and hypnotic eyes. |
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| Question (3): |
The Bridegroom's doors are
opened wide And I am next of Kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din.'
Why does the guest explain 'I am next of kin'? (Stanza 2)
|
| Answer: The guest wants the Mariner to allow him to leave for the wedding. |
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| Question (4): |
The Bridegroom's doors are
opened wide And I am next of Kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din.'
What is 'merry din'? (Stanza 2)
|
| Answer: A happy joyful noise or commotion (as in a wedding) is called 'merry din'. |
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| Question (5): |
He holds him with his skinny hand,
'There was a ship,' quoth he. 'Hold
off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!'
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
Who is called the 'loon'? (Stanza 3)
|
| Answer: The Ancient Mariner is called the 'loon'. A loon is a fox like animal. Here, it means 'lunatic'. |
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| Question (6): |
He holds him with his skinny hand,
'There was a ship,' quoth he. 'Hold
off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!'
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
Who is 'he' and who is 'him'? (Stanza 3)
|
| Answer: 'He' is the Mariner and 'him' refers to the wedding guest. |
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| Question (7): |
He holds him with his glittering eye-
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years's child.
The Mariner hath his will.
What was the Mariner's will? (Stanza 4)
|
| Answer: The Mariner's will was to make the wedding guest listen to his story. |
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| Question (8): |
The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone;
He cannot coose but hear,
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
What does 'he sat on a stone' signify? (Stanza 5)
|
| Answer: It means complete surrender by the wedding guest and a display of interest in the Mariner's story. |
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| Question (9): |
The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone;
He cannot coose but hear,
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
Give the equivalent of 'spake'. (Stanza 5)
|
| Answer: 'Spoke' is the equivalent of 'spake'. Spake is archaic english. |
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| Question (10): |
The Sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.
Which direction are they travelling? How do you know? (Stanza 7)
|
| Answer: They are travelling towards south. We know this by the direction of sunrise. |
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| Question (11): |
The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she;
Nodding their heads before her goes
The merry minstrelsy.
Who actually is narrating these lines of the poem and to whom?
(Stanza 9)
|
| Answer: The poet is revealing to the reader, the thoughts going on in the wedding guest's mind as he listens to the Ancient Mariner. |
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| Question (12): |
'And now the STORM-BLAST came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o'ertaking-wings,
And chased us south along.
Identify the figure of speech in line 1 of the poem. (Stanza 11)
|
| Answer: The figure of speech is personification. (The storm blast is personified as some one tyrannous and strong). |
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| Question (13): |
And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken
The ice was all between.
Why is the sheen dismal? (Stanza 14)
|
| Answer: There is no living animal or man anywhere on the land of ice and snow. Therefore, the sheen is dismal or sad. |
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| Question (14): |
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!
What is the poetic device used in line 1. (Stanza 15)
|
| Answer: Repetition is the poetic device used. |
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| Question (15): |
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!
Where have the sailors reached? (Stanza 15)
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| Answer: The sailors have approached the South Pole. |
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| Question (16): |
It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through!
Why did Albatross eat the food it had not eaten before? (Stanza 17)
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| Answer: Albatross did so because the sailors fed it with food they had brought from their land. |
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| Question (17): |
It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through!
Did the Albatross prove to be lucky for the sailors? (Stanza 17)
|
| Answer: Yes it did. The ice cleared and the ship was able to reach the destination. |
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| Question (18): |
In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,
It perched for vespers nine;
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white Moon-shine.
What does the 'presence of the moonshine through the fog' signify? (Stanza 19)
|
| Answer: 'Presence of the moonshine' signifies that God is pleased with the sailors on the ship and his blessings are with them. |
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| Question (19): |
God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus! -
Why look' st thou so?' - With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.
The line 1 is said by whom and why? (Stanza 20)
|
| Answer: The wedding guest says it. He says so because he sees a look of pain and horror on the Mariner's face. |
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| Question (20): |
The Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
In which direction are they proceeding now? (Stanza 21)
|
| Answer: They are proceeding towards the North. |
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| Question (21): |
The Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
Why is the Sun hid in mist? (Stanza 21)
|
| Answer: The Mariner has committed a crime and enraged the Lord. So the Sun is hidden in the mist. |
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| Question (22): |
And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariners' hollo!
Stanza 22 is about a repetition of an earlier stanza. What is this poetic device called? (Stanza 22)
|
| Answer: It is called Refrain. |
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| Question (23): |
And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!
What opinion is expressed by the sailors? (Stanza 23)
|
| Answer: The sailors spontaneously condemn the Mariner for killing a harmless bird. |
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| Question (24): |
And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!
Why did the sailors call the Mariner a 'wretch'? (Stanza 23)
|
| Answer: The sailors felt that this thoughtless crime would bring them sorrow. So they called him a wretch. |
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| Question (25): |
Nor dim nor red, like God's own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That bought the fog and mist.
'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.
Describe the Sun after the fog has cleared (Stanza 24)
|
| Answer: The Sun is bright and radiant after the fog has cleared. |
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| Question (26): |
Nor dim nor red, like God's own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That bought the fog and mist.
'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.
What do the sailors now say? (Stanza 24)
|
| Answer: The sailors mistake the clearing of the fog to be the result of the slaughter, so they now praise the sailor for the slaughter. |
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| Question (27): |
All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.
Explain the strange imagery. (Stanza 27)
|
| Answer: The Sun at noon should actually be resplendent, bright and white. But since the sailors have committed the crime of supporting the Ancient Mariner, the Sun has become red and small. |
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| Question (28): |
Ah! well a - day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
Who are the old and the young? (Stanza 34)
|
| Answer: They are the old and young sailors on the ship. |
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| Question (29): |
Ah! well a - day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
What punishment do the sailors give the Mariner? (Stanza 34)
|
| Answer: They tie the Albatross round his neck. |
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| Question (30): |
Explain the line "Ah wretch said they, the bird to slay, that made the breeze to blow!"
|
| Answer: In these lines the sailors are scolding and blaming the Ancient Mariner for killing the Albatross, who they feel had brought the fair wind and helped them to sail to the Pacific Ocean. |
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| Question (31): |
How did the reaction of the people change after that?
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| Answer: Soon afterwards, as they moved into the Pacific Ocean and the weather became splendid, the sailors changed their opinion and praised the Ancient Mariner for killing the Albatross, which they now think brought the fog and mist. |
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| Question (32): |
Explain the lines "Water, water everywhere ......... nor any drop to drink".
|
| Answer: The sailors are stuck in the sea in the Doldrums (an equatorial ocean region of calms, sudden storms, and light unpredictable winds) and have run out of water. Thirsty in the hot sun, they crave for a drop of water to drink. It is an ironical situation that though they are surrounded by water on all sides, they cannot drink it, as it is seawater that is salty. |
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| Question (33): |
Explain the following lines:
a) "The very deep did rot........... upon that slimy sea."
b) "Of the spirit that plagued us so..........."
c) "Instead of the cross the Albatross about my neck was hung."
|
Answer: a) As they are stuck in the sea, the very 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 area and sea creatures feeding on it on the surface of the water.
b) The sailors are convinced that the spirit of the dead Albatross is troubling them.
c) The sailors decide to punish the Ancient Mariner. They remove the symbol of the Lord, 'the cross' from his neck and hang the Albatross round his neck. |
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| Question (34): |
Point out the literary device used in the following lines and explain the device.
"It cracked and growled, and roared and howled."
|
| Answer: The literary device used here is onomatopoeia - the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle etc.). This is the formation of words that imitate the sounds that they stand for. |
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| Question (35): |
Explain how the poem ancient mariner is a narration about crime and punishment?
|
Answer: It is certainly about crime and punishment. The sailors are stuck in the south pole when they suddenly see an albatross flying towards the ship. They welcome it as a messenger from god and be friend it. It stays with them circling over the ship and sitting on the mast. The sailors give it food and play with it. With the coming of the albatross the ship miraculously breaks through the ice and is able to sail smoothly. There is a fair amount of breeze blowing which pushes the ship forward. Then suddenly one day the American mariner commits the sin of killing the albatross. The sailors first blame him and then praise him as they experience wonderful weather. Then they are stick in the Pacific Ocean without any water. It is as if nature in punishing them for having killed an innocent creature. Even the other sailors are partners in the crime as they have not condemned the ancient mariner completely. Their suffering forces them to believe that the spirit of the albatross is following them right them to south pole causing them to suffer. Finally, the other sailors punish the ancient mariner by hanging the albatross around his neck as a constant reminder of his heinous crime. So the poem is about sin and the retribution by the powers of nature.
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| Question (36): |
"And every tongue through utter drought
Was withered at the root"
1. Whose tongue was parched and why?
2. Explain the comparison used?
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Answer:
1. The sailors tongue were parched because their was no water. They were stuck in the middle of the ocean and they were suffering.
2. The poet has used a metaphor to explain the condition of the sailors. The dryness of their tongues is compared to a withered root of a plant. |
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