Summary of the rime of the ancient mariner 0 line by line
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An old sailor stopped one person out of a group of three. The person said that the sailor had a grey – coloured beard and shining eyes. He asked him that why had he stopped him.
The person was going to a wedding. He said to the sailor that the doors of the bridegroom’s house had been opened which indicated that the ceremony was about to begin. As he was a family member, he was in a hurry. All the guests had already arrived and the dinner had been laid. The wedding music could also be heard.
The sailor held the wedding guest with his thin hand and began to speak. He wanted him to hear his story. He started to speak and had only said that there had been a ship when the wedding guest interrupted him. He called him a mad man with a grey beard and ordered him to take his hand off him. The next moment, the sailor removed his hand from the person.
Although the wedding guest was no longer held by the sailor’s hand, the sailor captivated him with his shining eyes. The wedding guest stood still and listened to the sailor like a three – year old child. He was under a spell cast by the sailor’s eyes. The mariner was successful in stopping him and began narrating his story.
The wedding guest sat on a stone. He had no other option than to hear the mariner’s story. Finally, the bright – eyed mariner started narrating his story.
The sailor said that their ship left the harbor as everyone was cheerful. As the ship sailed away, they could see the church, the hill and the lighthouse on the hill. It seemed that they sailed from beneath them.
The sailor further said that as they sailed, the sun rose from their left (as Sun rises in the east, it means that they were sailing Southwards). The Sunrise at the horizon seemed as if the Sun was appearing out of the sea. It was a bright and sunny day and finally, at Sunset it again seemed to disappear into the sea.
With each passing day, the Sun would be higher up in the sky and one day it was overhead at noon time which indicates that the ship had reached the equatorial region. The wedding guest heard the loud sound of the bassoon which meant that the wedding ceremony had started. The spell of the mariner broke, and the wedding guest was reminded of the wedding which he had to attend. So, he started beating his chest as a mark of protest.
The poet describes the scene at the wedding. The bride walked into the hall. She was pretty like a red rose. She was led into the hall by a group of musicians who were playing happy wedding songs
Although the wedding guest protested by beating his chest, still he did not have another option than to listen to the sailor. So, once again, the sailor with shining eyes continued to narrate his story.
The sailor continued his story and said that a powerful and harsh storm seized their ship. It dragged their ship along towards the southern direction
The ship had been overpowered by the strong storm. The mast was sloping down and the front part of the ship dipped into the sea due to the pressure of the wind. The ship was forceful, and the roaring sound of the strong wind could be heard. The ship was overshadowed by the storm just like a warrior who sneaks, bends his head forward and tries to escape from the shadow of the powerful enemy. The ship sailed at a fast speed which shows that the wind was intense, and the roaring sound of the wind could be heard. They kept on sailing towards the south direction.
The ship reached the South pole region and it was surrounded by mist and snow. It was very cold. Huge masses of ice which were as tall as the mast of the ship floated by. They were emerald - green in colour.
The edges of the drifting masses of ice reflected the sunlight with a gloomy shine. The poet calls the shine to be gloomy and sad because as the weather was extremely cold and the Sun was not bright enough, the air was sad and depressing. There was no sign of life. They could not see any person or animal around. They were surrounded by ice.
The sailor says that ice was all around them. It made various sounds – it cracked, growled, roared and howled. The noises resembled those made by a person when suffering from a fainting fit.
Finally, after a long time, an Albatross bird flew out of the fog. As it is considered to be a holy bird, the ship’s crew welcomed it.
The albatross ate the food that the crew fed it. It would fly around the ship. It was a good omen for the ship because with the arrival of the albatross a good thing happened – The ice which had surrounded the ship split into two parts with a loud sound and the ship which had been stuck for so many days started sailing once again.