Engl 112. Students' notes on "The Mariner," elicited September 18 2008
Selected from group reports, lightly edited. First set of comments were in response to literary features identified in the text.
Heaven's Mother send us grace!, 178 ironic line; "grace" will turn out to be death "As if through a dungeon-grate he peered, 179 foreshadowing (death; stasis) "Are those her ribs", 185 image of skeleton; and ship is separating them from the sun which = life "off shot the spectre bark" now a ghost ship, where before was a "she" and as if alive "Glittering eye," etc., 3 eyes seem a recurring image in this poem; Mariner's eyes compel Wedding-Guest to listen "with throats unslaked, with black lips baked", 157 assonance, contrasted with cacophony: emphasizes mariners' plight "I heard nor sigh nor groan", 217 unearthly silence of death "And thus spake on...", 19 shift in point of view to Mariner: will give greater insight into Mariner's experience "And now there came", 51 engagement: reader response to imagery "As green as emerald," etc., 54; "As if it had been," 64, etc. similes --> help create imagery "Alone, alone, ...", 232 alliteration "Like the whizz of my cross-bow", 220-3 emphasizes link between death of Albatross and death of crew "And the balls like pulses beat", 249 alliteration "Are those her ribs...", etc., 185-9 every line in the stanza a question: emphasizes his uncertainty Wedding Guest -- marriage represents a union, the opposite of the Mariner who is cursed and alone "bright-eyed," "merrily", 20, 22 ironically upbeat "tyrannous and strong", 41 personifies the storm "loud bassoon," "loud roared the blast", 32, 49 a lot of sound imagery More general comments:
Moon affected by the presence of death
All that because of a bird?
Mariner becomes surrounded by supernatural beings out to get him after the killing of the Albatross; as if the whole supernatural world is conspiring against him
Mariner seems taunted or haunted by something which compels him to retell his story to others
Mariner's crime, inadvertantly causing the death of his crew while he is forced to live; remains unaccepted, shunned by society; can't run from death
tells his story to make up for what he did; teaches others from his mistakes
Engagement: seeing things from the Mariner's perspective
Document created September 19th 2008