P 5: The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

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Q. RTC

" Day after day, day after day
We stuck, nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean."

i) Who was stuck and where?

A. The ancient mariner was stuck along with his shipmates in the motionless, still sea.

ii) What is the effect of repetition in the first line?

A. The repetition 'Day after day, day after day' signifies that the ancient mariner's ship was stuck at the same spot in the middle of the lifeless sea for days.

iii) What literary devise has been used in the last lines? What effect does it create?

A. Simile has been used in the last line. The still ship has been compared to a ship of a painted ship. It shows the lifelessness, stillness and the silence of the sea.
Q. What shows the fickle mindedness of the sailors? How did they become partners in crime later?

A. When the Ancient Mariner had killed the albatross, the very Christian albatross that made the wind blow, all his comrades condemned him for his sin. After this, they were stuck in the same spot as no wind blew and were surrounded by fog and mist. But as luck would have it, the sun shone suddenly one day and cleared the fog and mist. The sailors now rejoiced and they declared that Ancient Mariner had done the right thing by killing the albatross, which they now believed as a bad omen that had brought the fog and mist. By praising the Mariners sins, the other sailors revealed their uncertainty and fickle nature and became a part of his crime.
Q. How does the poet suggest that the mariner is desperate to talk of his sins?

A. The mariner was desperate to share the adventurous tale of his sins. He was so eager that he detained a wedding guest to share with him his story. Despite all the protests of the guest, the Mariner mesmerised him and explained to him his tale.


Q. V.B.Q. (Value Based Question) -

 " As you sow, so shall you reap". How does the Ancient Mariner and his fellow sailor's suffering during their voyage bring out the truth of this statement?

A. The Ancient Mariner killed the very albatross whose pleasant company he and his comrades had enjoyed and they had even regarded the albatross as a Christian soul. This made him the culprit of a heinous crime. When his fickle comrades cursed the albatross which they felt was earlier a good omen and declared that the Ancient Mariner had done just the right thing, they too became his partners in the crime. But as every crime gets punished, the sailors were no exception. They had to suffer the monotonous, dreadful sea, the draught and the starvation before finally being laid to rest. The Ancient Mariner, being the main culprit somehow survived only to relive this purgatory experience whenever he narrated it to someone. Indeed you shall reap as you sow.

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