THE RIME OF ANCIENT MARINER
Answer the
following questions briefly
(a) How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?
Answer
The ancient mariner held the wedding guest with his skinny hand, and forced him into listening to him, capturing his attention with his glittering eyes. His gaze was so strong and intense, that even though the wedding guest did not want to listen to the story, he was forced to, much against his will.
(b) Was the wedding guest happy to be stopped? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer
No, the wedding guest was not happy because he was forcibly detained by the ancient mariner whereas he being a close relative of the bridegroom, was expected to reach there well in time. The guests had already arrived there. The feast was set. The loud sound of bassoon could be heard.
(c) Describe the ancient mariner.
Answer
The ancient mariner looks like a lunatic with his grey long beard with glittering eyes, His hands were rough and skinny and he had a mesmerizing gaze. The mariner was badly ridden with a sense of guilt and remorse after the wanton act of killing the Albatross. He is cursed to be haunted indefinitely by his dead shipmates, and to be compelled to tell the tale of his downfall at random times.
(d) How does the mariner describe the movement of the ship as it sails away from the land?
Answer
The mariner described the movement of the ship as it sailed away from the land in a very animated and interesting way. His description was so realistic that the wedding guest was mesmerized. As the ship moved southward, the weather was pleasant. But soon the weather started changing for the worst. First, a storm broke. It later turned to mist and snow, due to which their ship was stuck in ice.
(e) What kind of weather did the sailors enjoy at the beginning of their journey? How has it been expressed in the poem?
Answer
The weather was pleasant and sunny at the beginning of the journey.
(a) How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?
Answer
The ancient mariner held the wedding guest with his skinny hand, and forced him into listening to him, capturing his attention with his glittering eyes. His gaze was so strong and intense, that even though the wedding guest did not want to listen to the story, he was forced to, much against his will.
(b) Was the wedding guest happy to be stopped? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer
No, the wedding guest was not happy because he was forcibly detained by the ancient mariner whereas he being a close relative of the bridegroom, was expected to reach there well in time. The guests had already arrived there. The feast was set. The loud sound of bassoon could be heard.
(c) Describe the ancient mariner.
Answer
The ancient mariner looks like a lunatic with his grey long beard with glittering eyes, His hands were rough and skinny and he had a mesmerizing gaze. The mariner was badly ridden with a sense of guilt and remorse after the wanton act of killing the Albatross. He is cursed to be haunted indefinitely by his dead shipmates, and to be compelled to tell the tale of his downfall at random times.
(d) How does the mariner describe the movement of the ship as it sails away from the land?
Answer
The mariner described the movement of the ship as it sailed away from the land in a very animated and interesting way. His description was so realistic that the wedding guest was mesmerized. As the ship moved southward, the weather was pleasant. But soon the weather started changing for the worst. First, a storm broke. It later turned to mist and snow, due to which their ship was stuck in ice.
(e) What kind of weather did the sailors enjoy at the beginning of their journey? How has it been expressed in the poem?
Answer
The weather was pleasant and sunny at the beginning of the journey.
The sun came as if appearing from
the innards of the sea. The sun was bright day after day during the initial
phase of the journey.
(f) How did the sailors reach the land of mist and snow?
Answer
The sailor started their journey happily. But after a very short spell of smooth journey a very turbulent and violent sea-storm rose. The storm was so powerful that it completely overtook the ship and drove the ship to the extreme South. In this way, the sailors reached the land of mist and snow.
(g) How does the mariner express the fact that the ship was completely surrounded by icebergs?
Answer
The words “the ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all around,” gives us the picture of the ship surrounded, or rather, caught completely by the icebergs.
(h) How do we know that the albatross was not afraid of the humans? Why did the sailors hail it in God’s name?
Answer
Albatross didn't fear humans because it followed the mariners day and night and ate and played with them as well. The sailors hailed it in God’s name because it was a messenger from God which lifted the fog and mist.
(i) What was the terrible deed done by the Mariner? Why do you think he did it?
Answer
The terrible deed done by the Mariner was that he shot the albatross. I think he did it because he considered its presence to be a bad omen.
EXTRA QUESTIONS
(a) In which direction did the
ship start moving? How can you say?
Answer
The ship started moving northwards. This can be said because the line in
the poem says: “the sun now rose upon the right.”
(b) Why does the mariner say that 'no sweet bird did follow'?
Answer
The mariner says that no sweet bird did follow with reference to the albatross which followed them a few days back, and now is dead.
(c) How did the other mariners behave towards the Ancient Mariner at first? How many times did they change their mind about the Ancient Mariner? What does this tell us about their character?
Answer
The other mariners rebuked him at first to have killed the albatross. However, they changed their mind immediately after that to praise the ancient mariner who killed the bird which brought in fog and mist. This shows how confused the mariners were, to set up a fixed notion about the ancient sailor.
(d) How did the sailing conditions change after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow? What or who did the mariners blame for this change?
Answer
The sailing condition changed for the worst after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow. Their ship was stuck in the silent sea. The breeze dropped down, making the sails drop down as well. The ship came to a standstill. The mariners blamed the ancient mariner for this change because he had killed the albatross which brought the breeze.
(e) What is indicated by the line 'The bloody sun, at noon,/Right up above the mast did stand,/No bigger than the moon'?
Answer
This line indicates the excessive heat of the sun, which shone above the mast at noon. The word
‘bloody’ shows how unwelcome the sun was.
(f) How does the mariner describe the fact that they were completely motionless in the middle of the sea?
Answer
The stanza “Day after day, day after day,/We stuck, nor breath nor motion,/As idle as a painted ship/Upon a painted ocean,” portrays a still picture of the sea and the ship.
(g) What is the irony in the ninth stanza? Explain it in your own words.
Answer
The ship was surrounded by the water on all sides. The sailors were in the middle of so much water but they did not have single drop of water to drink. The water of the ocean is salty, and thus inappropriate for the sailors to quench their thirst.
(h) What is the narrator trying to convey through the description of the situation in the tenth and eleventh stanza?
Answer
In these stanzas, the narrator tries to convey the standstill description of the ocean and the ship. Everything rot because of the motionless sea. Animals from deep within the ocean had come out of their places and crawled in the slimy sea.
At night, the 'death-fires' seemed to dance near them. The narrator refers to the sea water as the witch's oil. Just like a witch's oil has many shades and keeps boiling, the sea water also had 'green, blue and white' colours. However, this was due to the different coloured creatures crawling in the sea.
(i) What or who did the mariners feel was responsible for their suffering?
Answer
The mariners feel the absence of the albatross is the reason for their suffering. Thus, they blame the ancient mariner for killing the albatross.
(j) Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.
Answer
The mariners were feeling thirsty but they didn't have water to quench their thirst. Their tongue had become completely dry at the root. They couldn't speak because they felt if their throats were chocked with soot.
(k) Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?
Answer
The mariners hung the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner as a cursed reminder, so that the thought could plague him for the rest of his life.
(b) Why does the mariner say that 'no sweet bird did follow'?
Answer
The mariner says that no sweet bird did follow with reference to the albatross which followed them a few days back, and now is dead.
(c) How did the other mariners behave towards the Ancient Mariner at first? How many times did they change their mind about the Ancient Mariner? What does this tell us about their character?
Answer
The other mariners rebuked him at first to have killed the albatross. However, they changed their mind immediately after that to praise the ancient mariner who killed the bird which brought in fog and mist. This shows how confused the mariners were, to set up a fixed notion about the ancient sailor.
(d) How did the sailing conditions change after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow? What or who did the mariners blame for this change?
Answer
The sailing condition changed for the worst after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and snow. Their ship was stuck in the silent sea. The breeze dropped down, making the sails drop down as well. The ship came to a standstill. The mariners blamed the ancient mariner for this change because he had killed the albatross which brought the breeze.
(e) What is indicated by the line 'The bloody sun, at noon,/Right up above the mast did stand,/No bigger than the moon'?
Answer
This line indicates the excessive heat of the sun, which shone above the mast at noon. The word
‘bloody’ shows how unwelcome the sun was.
(f) How does the mariner describe the fact that they were completely motionless in the middle of the sea?
Answer
The stanza “Day after day, day after day,/We stuck, nor breath nor motion,/As idle as a painted ship/Upon a painted ocean,” portrays a still picture of the sea and the ship.
(g) What is the irony in the ninth stanza? Explain it in your own words.
Answer
The ship was surrounded by the water on all sides. The sailors were in the middle of so much water but they did not have single drop of water to drink. The water of the ocean is salty, and thus inappropriate for the sailors to quench their thirst.
(h) What is the narrator trying to convey through the description of the situation in the tenth and eleventh stanza?
Answer
In these stanzas, the narrator tries to convey the standstill description of the ocean and the ship. Everything rot because of the motionless sea. Animals from deep within the ocean had come out of their places and crawled in the slimy sea.
At night, the 'death-fires' seemed to dance near them. The narrator refers to the sea water as the witch's oil. Just like a witch's oil has many shades and keeps boiling, the sea water also had 'green, blue and white' colours. However, this was due to the different coloured creatures crawling in the sea.
(i) What or who did the mariners feel was responsible for their suffering?
Answer
The mariners feel the absence of the albatross is the reason for their suffering. Thus, they blame the ancient mariner for killing the albatross.
(j) Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.
Answer
The mariners were feeling thirsty but they didn't have water to quench their thirst. Their tongue had become completely dry at the root. They couldn't speak because they felt if their throats were chocked with soot.
(k) Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?
Answer
The mariners hung the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner as a cursed reminder, so that the thought could plague him for the rest of his life.
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