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75th out of 130 books
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems
Samuel Taylor Coleridge asserted that his aim in writing this great narrative poem was to make the supernatural seem real. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is admired for its fluid meter and masterly structure, accurate observation of sensuous detail and its wholly mystic power.
Paperback, 80 pages
Published
September 18th 1992
by Dover Publications
(first published 1817)
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Top eight (top ten, but in octal) ways to announce general failure to the surrounding area at work (back before telecommuting paradise anyway, w00t):
8) The plane has hit the fucking mountain!
7) I wish someone knew how computers worked around here
6) lpt0: printer on fire
5) Mr. McKitchrick, after careful consideration, I think our system: sucks
4) We're gonna need a bigger boat!
3) OH SHIT THERE'S A HORSE IN THE HOSPITAL
2) FUCK ME THE RINGBUFFER IS FUL...more
8) The plane has hit the fucking mountain!
7) I wish someone knew how computers worked around here
6) lpt0: printer on fire
5) Mr. McKitchrick, after careful consideration, I think our system: sucks
4) We're gonna need a bigger boat!
3) OH SHIT THERE'S A HORSE IN THE HOSPITAL
2) FUCK ME THE RINGBUFFER IS FUL...more
I'm glad that Folio Society dedicated their efforts to such short work, and in a single volume. The wood engravings by Garrick Palmer have the same gothic tone even if they are a little too abstract for my taste. I think that Palmer also did the wood engravings for the Folio Society's Moby Dick as well. [return][return]The poem itself is haunting and clever. I particularly like the moral of not hurting animals linked with the superstitions of sailors. I however fail to see all the connections t...more
My father and I had little in common throughout my life and though he has now passed on, the one thing we did have that I will always recall with fondness was a passion for this particular poem (which he could quote at will) and of course some of Tennyson's works, which I will comment on elsewhere. How is it possible that a poem can transcend the emotions and carry one away to the beat of iambic pentametre? I'm not sure but what I do know is that this is what it does for me...out on the lonely...more
The thing I find hard about Coleridge is that after a while, the richness of the language becomes taxing. It's like eating too much sweet indulgent food. After a point, it's just not happening. But, at the same time, it's also that richness of language that makes me go back to the Ancient Mariner, or Christabel, or Kubla Khan over and over. I really do have to be in the mood to read poetry at all, but Coleridge has an amazing ability to lift my mood because some of the poems are just so damn ple...more
The poem itself is about a Mariner who is telling his tale of sin and forgiveness by God. The Mariner is supposedly responsible for the death of all of the crew on his ship because of his killing of a creature(Albatross) which was to bring them the wind that they needed to put power into the sails of the ship. The whole point of the poem is to encourage or convince the reader to believe the tale that Coleridge tells.
A wonderfully written story! Having finished this short poem I felt an urg...more
A wonderfully written story! Having finished this short poem I felt an urg...more
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Albatross Hunters of the Caribbean
This is a very long poem about a group of men who set off without a sat-nav system to *spoiler alert* shoot an albatross. They know this is a bad idea, but they do it anyway. The man who eventually shoots the albatross is cunningly referred to as “the Ancient Mariner” (the AM) to ensure that the name of his family is not brought into disrepute. Having shot the bird, the soul of the AM is doomed to wander the earth, gate-crashing weddings and scaring ...more
This is a very long poem about a group of men who set off without a sat-nav system to *spoiler alert* shoot an albatross. They know this is a bad idea, but they do it anyway. The man who eventually shoots the albatross is cunningly referred to as “the Ancient Mariner” (the AM) to ensure that the name of his family is not brought into disrepute. Having shot the bird, the soul of the AM is doomed to wander the earth, gate-crashing weddings and scaring ...more
SnowyAngel
rated it
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of my favourite poems. Other poems I have had the pleasure of reading by S. T. Coleridge are Kubla Khan, Frost at Midnight and Cristabel. I like the former two but was not very keen on Cristabel. Anyhow, his ideas are very interesting asnd the elements of the romantic era are both present and rather pleasing in his poems. I hope to find time to read more of his poems in the future.
Hope, Imagination, honourable Aims,
Free Commune with the choir that cannot die,
Science and Song, delight in little things,
The buoyant child surviving in the man ;
Fields, forests, ancient mountains, ocean, sky,
With all their voices--O dare I accuse
My earthly lot as guilty of my spleen,
Or call my destiny niggard ! O no ! no !
It is her largeness, and her overflow,
Which being incomplete, disquieteth me so !
Free Commune with the choir that cannot die,
Science and Song, delight in little things,
The buoyant child surviving in the man ;
Fields, forests, ancient mountains, ocean, sky,
With all their voices--O dare I accuse
My earthly lot as guilty of my spleen,
Or call my destiny niggard ! O no ! no !
It is her largeness, and her overflow,
Which being incomplete, disquieteth me so !
I would give "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or "Kubla Kahn" five stars easily, but a lot of the poetry in the book beyond that didn't do much for me. Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a brilliant writer of the more supernaturally minded poems, and his verses of love are generally rather good. Personally, I'm a bit uncomfortable reading this, as I really haven't a lot of experience with anything beyond the epic poems.
So I read this for one of my British Lit classes and I had to read it a few times over to really get everything because the first time I read it I was half asleep. Each time I read it the more I liked it. It has a good theme to value each living creature.
Of course, these poems are great. I revisited these on a whim and I'm glad I did. I forgot how much of a narrative bias Coleridge had.
This Dover edition is ho hum. Nothing but the bare poems, but hey, my copy cost me $1.
This Dover edition is ho hum. Nothing but the bare poems, but hey, my copy cost me $1.
Read all the poems in this book but The Rime of The Ancient Mariner was my favourite. Its a very long poem, however I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The use of metaphors throughout is amazing and the style is brilliant. I really enjoyed the idea and the plot of the mariner retelling his terrible sea journey.
I read this book for an exam for A-Level but have since revisted it and read it again and still thoroughly enjoy it.
I read this book for an exam for A-Level but have since revisted it and read it again and still thoroughly enjoy it.
Quite an Intersting Poem. Colderige is definetly inspired by MacBeth (Shakespeare) as there are quotes similar to that. Very Good poem to read though (:
A bit on "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," particularly the epigraph at my blog.
(Ignore the part that says "and Other Poems". I couldn't find an edition with just The Rime in it.)
I recently read this for a second time for my British Literature class. The first time I read it I believe I was 13 or so, and didn't like it at all... but then I didn't like most poetry then. The second time around I enjoyed it very much. Coleridge can tend to the melodramatic side of poetry, but he keeps himself reined in here. The rhyme scheme is particularly delightful, esp...more
I recently read this for a second time for my British Literature class. The first time I read it I believe I was 13 or so, and didn't like it at all... but then I didn't like most poetry then. The second time around I enjoyed it very much. Coleridge can tend to the melodramatic side of poetry, but he keeps himself reined in here. The rhyme scheme is particularly delightful, esp...more
Wordsworth = namby-pamby, insipid, pompous, daffodil-snorter.
Coleridge rocks, though he did have a substance abuse problem.
Coleridge rocks, though he did have a substance abuse problem.
I read this awhile ago... really good story. I'd actually like to re-read it now that I'm a bit older!
Welll I was curious to read this after listening to the song by Iron Maiden. it's a good read.
Risa
added it
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1992)
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an all time favorite.
Widsith
marked it as to-read
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1992)
An albatross around my neck :)
One of my favorite poets.
Katy
added it
The new favorite bedtime story. He really likes it when I do the voices.
All metalheads had a little edge on their alternative-rock peers in high school when it came to the romantic poets because of Iron Maiden, which is how I came across this too. Coleridge writes the scariest, weirdest stuff, without being psychedelic, just pure badassery.
"Water Water everywhere and not a drop to drink..."
So many memorable lines accompany this story of a crew lost at sea that turn to desperate measures after one member shoots an albatross. Read on!
"As Idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean..."
So many memorable lines accompany this story of a crew lost at sea that turn to desperate measures after one member shoots an albatross. Read on!
"As Idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean..."
title poem is so lovely. my pa used to read it to me as bedtime story
just been re-read to at bedtime, ah, best time to hear it just put this James Mason version on my shopping cart (sigh) at the store...How sinister and ideal is his voice for this poem.
just been re-read to at bedtime, ah, best time to hear it just put this James Mason version on my shopping cart (sigh) at the store...How sinister and ideal is his voice for this poem.
when i was 13, my year 9 english teacher, mr lopez, had me rewrite this entire poem. i made it about a bus journey to school. i can't remember what took the place of the albatross. it was obviously riveting.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is my all-time favorite poem. Even though Coleridge was flying high on opiates, this poem is brilliant and lots of Christian allegories can be found.
"Water, Water Everywhere..." Everyone should read the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I was so surprised at how many every day sayings are from this peice of Literature.
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, as well as his major prose work Biographia Literaria.
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