The Sun now rose upon the right: Out of the sea came he, Still hid in mist, and on the left Went down into the sea. And the good south wind still blew behind, But no sweet bird did follow, Nor any day for food or play Came to the mariners' hollo! And I had done a hellish thing, And it would work'em woe: For all averred, I had killed the bird That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! Nor dim nor red, like God's own head, The glorious Sun uprist: Then all averred, I had killed the bird That brought the fog and mist. The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, 'Twas sad as sad could be; And we did speak only to break The silence of the sea!
All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody Sun, at noon, Right up above the mast did stand, No bigger than the Moon. Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. The very deep did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs Upon the slimy sea. About, about, in reel and rout The death-fires danced at night; The water, like a witch's oils, Burnt green, and blue and white.
And some in dreams assured were Of the Spirit that plagued us so; Nine fathom deep he had followed us From the land of mist and snow. And every tongue, through utter drought, Was withered at the root; We could not speak, no more than if We had been choked with soot. Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung. At its nearer approach, it seemeth him to be a ship; and at a dear ransom he freeth his speech from the bonds of thirst. And horror follows. For can it be a ship that comes onward with- out wind or tide?
The Spectre-Woman and her Death-mate, and no other on board the skeleton ship. Like vessel, like crew! Death and Life-in-Death have diced for the ship's crew, and she the latter winneth the ancient Mariner. There passed a weary time. Each throat Was parched, and glazed each eye.
A weary time! How glazed each weary eye, When looking westward, I beheld A something in the sky. At first it seemed a little speck, And then it seemed a mist; It moved and moved, and took at last A certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared and neared: As if it dodged a water-sprite, It plunged and tacked and veered. With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, We could nor laugh nor wail; Through utter drought all dumb we stood! I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, And cried, A sail! With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, Agape they heard me call: Gramercy!
I cried she tacks no more! Hither to work us weal; Without a breeze, without a tide, She steadies with upright keel! The western wave was all a-flame. The day was well nigh done! Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright Sun; When that strange shape drove suddenly Betwixt us and the Sun.
And straight the Sun was flecked with bars, Heaven's Mother send us grace! As if through a dungeon-grate he peered With broad and burning face. Are those her sails that glance in the Sun, Like restless gossameres?
Are those her ribs through which the Sun Did peer, as through a grate? And is that Woman all her crew? Is that a death? Is death that woman's mate? Her lips were red, her looks were free, Her locks were yellow as gold: Her skin was as white as leprosy, The Night-mare life-in-death was she, Who thicks man's blood with cold. The naked hulk alongside came, And the twain were casting dice; "The game is done! I've won! The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out: At one stride comes the dark; With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea, Off shot the spectre-bark.
We listened and looked sideways up! Fear at my heart, as at a cup, My life-blood seemed to sip! One after one, by the star-dogged Moon, Too quick for groan or sigh, Each turned his face with a ghastly pang, And cursed me with his eye. Four times fifty living men, And I heard nor sigh nor groan With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, They dropped down one by one.
The souls did from their bodies fly— They fled to bliss or woe! And every soul, it passed me by, Like the whizz of my cross-bow! But the ancient Mariner assureth him of his bodily life, and pro- ceedeth to relate his horrible penance.
In his loneliness and fixedness he yearneth towards the journeying Moon, and the stars that still sojourn, yet still move onward; and everywhere the blue sky be- longs to them, and is their appointed rest, and their native country and their own natural homes, which they enter un- announced, as lords that are cer- tainly expected and yet there is a silent joy at their arrival.
I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand. I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown. This body dropt not down. Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I. I looked upon the rotting sea, And drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, And there the dead men lay.
I looked to heaven, and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came, and made My heart as dry as dust. I closed my lids, and kept them close, And the balls like pulses beat; For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky Lay like a load on my weary eye, And the dead were at my feet.
The cold sweat melted from their limbs, Nor rot nor reek did they: The look with which they looked on me Had never passed away. An orphan's curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high; But oh! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die. The moving Moon went up the sky, And no where did abide; Softly she was going up, And a star or two beside—. Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watched the water-snakes: They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they reared, the elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes.
Within the shadow of the ship I watched their rich attire: Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam; and every track Was a flash of golden fire. O happy living things! The self-same moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea. He heareth sounds and seeth strange sights and commotions in the sky and the element. The bodies of the ship's crew are inspired [inspirited] and the ship moves on;.
The lonesome Spirit from the south-pole carries on the ship as far as the Line, in obedience to the angelic troop, but still requireth vengeance. She is driven north to the Equator and is becalmed under burning sun in a rotting sea. The albatross is hung round the neck of the hated mariner. The ship sails home and the mariner is saved, but for a penance he is condemned to travel from land to land and to teach by his example love and reverence for all God's creatures.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge — poet, critic, and philosopher. View all related items in Oxford Reference ». All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice. Oxford Reference. Publications Pages Publications Pages. Recently viewed 0 Save Search. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.
Subscriber sign in You could not be signed in, please check and try again. What happens at the end of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner? Why does the Mariner get to survive to voyage when all the sailors die? Why does the ship sail to the land of ice and fearful sounds? What is the Mariners curse? What can the Mariner not do? What happens when the Mariner tries to pray? What is the moral lesson of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
What is the meaning of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner? What is the Mariner supposed to teach by his own example? What is the meaning of the Ancient Mariner? Does the Ancient Mariner die? What did the ancient mariner do wrong? Who is the Ancient Mariner talking to at the beginning of the poem? What type of poem is the Ancient Mariner?
What torments the mariner on the boat for a week? What good did the albatross bring what bad? Why is killing the albatross a sin? Why is the albatross bad luck? Can albatross sleep while flying? What bird stays in the air for 5 years? Can an albatross fly for a year without landing? Do birds die in flight? Can birds sleep while flying? Where do birds go to die? Why are the birds dying ?
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