The+Rime+of+the+Ancient+Mariner+Summaries

__Part 1__ (Courtney and Lydia) 1. Ancient mariner (seaman/boat person) stops a man out of a group of three people but he doesn't know why. The man asks //Why are you stopping me?// 2. The man that was stopped was on his way to a wedding and tells the mariner //I'm the groom's brother, the guests are here are so is the food. Can't you hear the party?// 3. The mariner takes hold of the guest with a skinny hand and starts speaking of a ship. The guest says //Get off me you lunatic!//. Soon after the mariner lets go of him. 4. The mariner stares at the man, keeping him transfixed. The man listens like a curious child as the mariner draws him in to his tale. 5. Guest sits and waits to hear the story. Mariner begins tale. 6. The story begins of merry times on a ship as it leaves port. 7. The sun rises on the left as if coming out of the sea. It shone bright and then set. 8. The sun rises to its peak at noon. The tale stops and the poem is taken back to reality as the guest hears a signal that is being used to call the guests in for the wedding. 9. The bride is in the church walking down the aisle as merry guest acknowledge her with a nod. 10. Guest is torn between returning to the wedding or listening to the tale. He chooses to hear the tale and so the mariner continues. 11. Tale: The ship is caught in a storm that followed the batted ship. 12. The crew decided to head south in order to try to flee the storm. 13. Weather: mist and snow surround the ship causing the weather to be cold and harsh. 14. They are all alone; surrounded by ice. 15. The ice was everywhere and seemed to be alive. 16. An Albatross arrives (good sign for seamen) which indicates that good times are ahead. 17. The bird follows the ship and eats some of their food. The ice begins to break (crack), making a path for the ship to go through. 18. A southerly wind picks up to move the ship. Every day the Albatross would return when the mariner called it. 19. Albatross came in any weather and sat through the crew's evening prayer (religious connotation). At night, the moonlight guided the ship. 20. Reality: Guest- //God saved you in bad times! So why are you making that face?// Mariner: //I shot the Albatross//

Part 2 (Tara and Gloria) 85. The sun rose on the right. It came out of the sea, hidden in the mist and then set on the left into the sea. 90. The south wind blew from behind but no birds followed or came to play despite the mariner's call. 95. I did a bad thing which worried us all. I killed the bird that made the wind blow. 100. The glorious sun rose high and they all stated I killed the bird, which brought the fog and mist. 105. The breeze blew softly, the waves lapped against the boat and we became the first to sail into the silent sea. 110. The breeze stopped. The sails went limp. It was a sad sight to see and only did we speak to break the silence of the sea. 115. At noon the red sun shone above the mast. The sky was red-brown and was no bigger than the moon. We were stuck on the motionless ocean, day after day like a still painting. 120. In this hot weather we were surrounded by water yet we could not drink any water. 125. Slimy creatures, sea monsters crawled upon the slimy sea. 130. Th death fire spun around at night. The water fuelled the fire burning green, blue and white. In my dreams the Spirit of the birds returned to haunt me. From death he followed us. 135. Because we had no water our mouth dried up, preventing us from speaking. 140. The crew rejected me from both old and youth. The Albatross I killed now hung on my neck instead of the cross I wore. **// PART III //** A long time passed. Everyone’s eyes were glazed and throats parched. All were weary. I looked to the west and noticed something in the sky. The thing in the distance seemed as tiny as a speck, then began to grow and appeared as mist. It moved and moved before taking a more solid form. It got closer and closer. As though trying to dodge a fantastical being it plunged, swerved and veered. Our throats and lips were so dry we stood in silence. I then bit into the flesh of my arm, drinking the blood to moisten my voice and cried out ‘A ship! A ship!’. My crew stood agape and grinned at the sight before them. Look! The winds and waves have died down and the ship in the distance is upright. The sun was setting, the waves ablaze with orange light. The strange ship stood between us and the sun. The sun peered at us through the masts of the approaching ship, like dungeon bars. Oh my god! I though, and my heart thundered. The ship neared quickly. Are those the ships sails, glancing in the sun like silk? Are those bars of the ship? Is that woman alone upon it? Is that Death? Are there two? Is that woman’s companion Death? She had red lips, she was dressed wildly with golden hair and pale white skin. She looked like a walking picture of Death, who could chill man’s blood. The dreary ship came alongside ours, its two voyagers were throwing dice. The woman exclaimed that she had won, and whistled three times. The sun set and stars appeared instantly in the night sky. With a faint whisper over the sea the ghost ship shot off into the distance. As we listened and watched it disappear, I was consumed by fear. The night was impenetrably dark—the steersman’s face ghostly white in the lamp light. It was dark but for the crescent moon and a bright star at its tip. One by one, by the light of the moon and star, the men of the crew turned to glare at me. With a heavy thump each man dropped lifelessly to the ground, one by one. The souls flew from their bodies, to heaven and hell respectively. They whizzed by me like the sound of my crossbow.

__Part 4 (Jacintha) :D__ [225 - 230] The Wedding Guest speaks to the Ancient Mariner //I fear you, and your skinny hand. I fear your form - lank, long and brown as the sand.// //I fear your glittering eye.//

[231 - 236] The Ancient Mariner speaks //Don’t be afraid, I’m not about to fall/ die.// //I was alone, all alone on a wide sea and no one, no saint took pity on my tormented soul.//

[237 - 244] The world decays as the Mariner watches //Those who died are beautiful while those who live on are slimy; and I lived on// //I looked at the rotting sea but can’t bear to keep looking.// //I looked at the rotted deck, but the dead men were there.//

[245 - 253] The Mariner descends into desolation and regret //I tried to pray to God, but when I tried, I found that I could not.// //I closed my eyes and felt them pulse with my heartbeat.// //I could not stand to look at my surroundings for the sky, the sea and the dead were like loads on my tired eyes.//

[254 - 263] The Ancient Mariner is tormented by the weight of his guilt of the dead. //The dead just stayed where they were, neither rotting or smelling; instead they simply glared at me.// //The curse in their dead eyes were more horrible than the curse of an orphan, who could drag a spirit of heaven to hell. And for seven days and seven nights I was faced with their curse, but I could not die.//

[264 - 272] Darkness rises. //The moon began to rise, as it was night, and stars began to appear.// //The moonlight creeps over the ship like hoar-frost (white ice crystals)// //The shadow of the ship upon the water burned away, not blue, but a calm and deep red.//

[273 - 282] The Water snakes appear - and the Mariner admires their form. //The water-snakes just beyond the shadow swam towards the ship, displacing the moonlight reflected upon the water.// //From the ship’s shadow I watched their beauty - colours of blue, green and black - their tracks flashing like golden fire.//

[283 - 288] The Mariner begins to identify with the water-snakes, finding familiarity in the strange, and he blesses the snake without realising he did. //Oh, happy living things whose beauty cannot be described.// //Love gushed from my heart and i blessed their unaware forms.// //The saint watching over me must have pitied me (thus sending the snakes), and I blessed them.//

[289 - 292]The prayer/ subsequent reconnection with God frees the Mariner from the sin of killing the Albatross. //The very moment that I managed to pray, the Albatross fell from my neck, freeing me and sank into the sea.//

__P____art 5__ (Courtney and Lydia) 1. The mariner speaks of how sleep is gentle and says that it should be credited as "//Mary Queen"// (Queen Mary?) sent him sleep from heaven that slipped into his soul. 2. The mariner dreamt that the buckets on the deck (that hadn't been used in a long time) were filled with water. When he woke up it was raining. 3. His whole body was wet and his clothes were soaked, he kept drinking even though he had drunk in his dream. 4. His body was numb and he felt so light that he thought that if he died he would turn into a ghost. 5. Soon a heavy wind arrived, but it did not draw rtoo near. Its sound shook the sails which fumbled. 6. The mariner enjoyed the air above him as thousands of stars came out to dance. 7.The wind continued to roar loudly and the sails continued to move. The rain began to pour from one black cloud as the moon showed its edge. 8. The cloud split and lightening split a rock causing a steep and wide river. 9. Although the wind never reached the ship to move it, the ship began moving due to the river. The only source of light was the moon as the mariner witnessed the dead men groaning (supernatural) 10. The dead men rose (zombies) and the mariner states that even in a dream this seemed weird. 11. The mariner pictures his dead crew helping him man the ship. 12. His nephew is by his side helping him to pull a rope, yet he says nothing to the mariner. 13. Reality: The guest begins to fear the story as the mariner tells him to stay calm as he reassures him that the crew were not bad spirits, however were just souls that had not crossed over, almost angel-like. As the sun rose, the dead bodies moved towards the mast and their souls crossed over. 14. As the souls crossed, sweet sounds came from their bodies. The sound darted towards the sun, but then came back to the mariner again. 15. Listening to birds sing on his travels at sea. 16. Desribes the songs as being like instruments, //"an angel's song//" that would make the "//Heavens be mute"//. 17. There is a time change as we move into the month of June (described as //leafy//...spring->summer?) The mariner states that the woods sing a quiet tune at night. 18. The mariner would sail until noon but there was no breeze. 19. A good spirit starts to help the mariner to move the ship away from the cold and ice, but at noon the ship stood still. 20. The ship begins to move in an //uneasy motion//. 21. The boat begins jerking and the mariner falls, hitting his head. 22. The mariner falls unconsious and wakes to voices. 23. The voices are talking about the mariner and his crime of the shooting the albatross. They are questioning whether or not it is the man who shot the //harmless Albatross//. 24. They speak of how he had been in the //land of mist and snow// and how he had shot the albatross that loved him. 25. A softer voice speaks up saying that he has repaid part of his debt for his deed back to religion, but will need to do more to save himself.

**// PART VII //** The good-natured Hermit lives in the wood near the sea. He sings sweetly, and loves to talk with sailors from far-away lands. He prays three times a day, kneeling on a pillow on top of a mossy oak-tree stump. The little boat neared and I overheard their conversation: ‘Well this is strange. What happened to all the lights that were just shining a moment ago?’ ‘Weird!’ said the Hermit. ‘They didn’t reply to our call. And the planks of the ship are all worn; the sails thin and threadbare. I’ve never seen anything like it, unless you count the crunchy, skeletal leaves on the forest floor.’ ‘Dear Lord! It looks scary!’ said the Pilot. ‘I’m afraid!’ ‘Push on, push on!’ The Hermit replied cheerfully. The boat approached the my ship, but I didn’t make a sound or movement. As it drew closer, a strange noise was heard. The noise grew louder and all of a sudden the ship split apart and sunk like lead. Stunned, I floated upside down in the water until I found myself in the Pilot’s boat. A whirlpool where the ship had disappeared spun the little boat round and round. The crashing sound of the sinking ship resonated in the hills. The Pilot shrieked and the Hermit began to pray as I opened my mouth the speak. The Pilot’s boy went crazy with mirth and laughed hysterically. ‘Ha ha,’ he said. ‘The Devil can row!’ We landed on the shore. The Hermit stepped off the boat shakily. ‘Oh help me, sanctify me, holy man!’ The Hermit furrowed his brow. ‘Quickly, tell me who you are!’ Agonisingly, I recounted my story. And then, I felt lighter and free. Since then, whenever that burning agony returns to weigh upon my heart, I have to tell my story. I travel from place to place as an orator. As soon as I see him I know the man to whom I must tell my ghastly tale. The door of the church hall burst open, and the din of the wedding-guests was heard. In the garden the bride and bridesmaids were singing. The evening church bell rang and moved me to pray. Oh Wedding-Guest, I’ve been alone for so long on the wide, wide sea. It was so lonely I thought I had been abandoned by God. It’s far sweeter than a wedding-feast to walk with good company to church. To walk together to church and pray together: men, women, children, babies, friends and families. Farewell, but remember this: the most Christian soul, the person with the best relationship with God, is the one who respects both man and Nature. The one with the best relationship with God is the one who loves all creatures great and small, for God created us all, and loves us all. The old sailor, whose eyes were shining, and beard scraggy, disappeared. The Wedding-Guest turned away from the door to the wedding.  The stunned guest felt a sense of forlorn. The next morning, he rose a sadder and wiser man.