Part I
It is an ancient Mariner,And he stoppeth one of three."By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide,And I am next of kin;The guests are met, the feast is set:May'st hear the merry din."
He holds him with his skinny hand,"There was a ship," quoth he."Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
He holds him with his glittering eye--The Wedding-Guest stood still,And listens like a three years child:The Mariner hath his will.
The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone:He cannot chuse but hear;And thus spake on that ancient man,The bright-eyed Mariner.
The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,Merrily did we dropBelow the kirk, below the hill,Below the light-house top.
The Sun came up upon the left,Out of the sea came he!And he shone bright, and on the rightWent down into the sea.
Higher and higher every day,Till over the mast at noon--The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,For he heard the loud bassoon.
The bride hath paced into the hall,Red as a rose is she;Nodding their heads before her goesThe merry minstrelsy.
The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast,Yet he cannot chuse but hear;And thus spake on that ancient man,The bright-eyed Mariner.
And now the STORM-BLAST came, and heWas tyrannous and strong:He struck with his o'ertaking wings,And chased south along.
With sloping masts and dipping prow,As who pursued with yell and blowStill treads the shadow of his foeAnd forward bends his head,The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast,And southward aye we fled.
And now there came both mist and snow,And it grew wondrous cold:And ice, mast-high, came floating by,As green as emerald.
And through the drifts the snowy cliftsDid send a dismal sheen:Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken--The ice was all between.
The ice was here, the ice was there,The ice was all around:It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,Like noises in a swound!
At length did cross an Albatross:Thorough the fog it came;As if it had been a Christian soul,We hailed it in God's name.
It ate the food it ne'er had eat,And round and round it flew.The ice did split with a thunder-fit;The helmsman steered us through!
And a good south wind sprung up behind;The Albatross did follow,And every day, for food or play,Came to the mariners' hollo!
In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,It perched for vespers nine;Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,Glimmered the white Moon-shine.
"God save thee, ancient Mariner!From the fiends, that plague thee thus!--Why look'st thou so?"--With my cross-bowI shot the ALBATROSS.
Words in this poem 17
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- skinny a.
- Consisting, or chiefly consisting, of skin; wanting flesh.
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- unhand v. t.
- To loose from the hand; to let go. [1 st pref. un- + hand.]
- eftsoons adv.
- Again; anew; a second time; at once; speedily. [OE. eftsone, eftsones; AS. eft + s soon. See Eft, and Soon.]
- harbour n.
- A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter. [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here ar]
- kirk n.
- A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- minstrelsy n.
- The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- tyrannous a.
- Tyrannical; arbitrary; unjustly severe; despotic. Sir P.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- cracked a.
- Coarsely ground or broken; as, cracked wheat.
- whiles conj.
- During the time that; while. Chaucer. Fuller.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Project Gutenberg ebook #151; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Part I, in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798, text of 1834), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #151, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ancient-mariner/part-1.html, id L00174.
Form and metre
Part I is 82 lines in 20 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABCB, complete in 19 of its 20 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABCB marinerA · threeB · eyeC · meB
- 2 ABCB wideA · kinB · setC · dinB
- 3 ABCB handA · heB · loonC · heB
- 4 ABCB eyeA · stillB · childC · willB
- 5 ABCB stoneA · hearB · manC · marinerB
- 6 ABCB clearedA · dropB · hillC · topB
- 7 ABCB leftA · heB · rightC · seaB
- 8 ABCB dayA · noonB · breastC · bassoonB
- 9 ABCB hallA · sheB · goesC · minstrelsyB
- 10 ABCB breastA · hearB · manC · marinerB
- 11 ABCB heA · strongB · wingsC · alongB
- 12 -AAB-B prow · blowA · foeA · headB · blast · fledB
- 13 ABCB snowA · coldB · byC · emeraldB
- 14 ABCB cliftsA · sheenB · kenC · betweenB
- 15 ABCB thereA · aroundB · howledC · swoundB
- 16 ABCB albatrossA · cameB · soulC · nameB
- 17 ABCB eatA · flewB · fitC · throughB
- 18 ABCB behindA · followB · playC · holloB
- 19 ABCB shroudA · nineB · whiteC · shineB
- 20 ABCB marinerA · thusB · bowC · albatrossB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It is an ancient Mariner, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And he stoppeth one of three. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And I am next of kin; | 6 | ······ |
| The guests are met, the feast is set: | 8 | ········ |
| May'st hear the merry din." | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He holds him with his skinny hand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "There was a ship," quoth he. | 6 | ······ |
| "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!" | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Eftsoons his hand dropt he. | 6 | ······ |
| He holds him with his glittering eye-- | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| The Wedding-Guest stood still, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And listens like a three years child: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The Mariner hath his will. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He cannot chuse but hear; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And thus spake on that ancient man, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The bright-eyed Mariner. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Merrily did we drop | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| Below the kirk, below the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| Below the light-house top. | 6 | ······ |
| The Sun came up upon the left, | 8 | ········ |
| Out of the sea came he! | 6 | ······ |
| And he shone bright, and on the right | 8 | ········ |
| Went down into the sea. | 6 | ······ |
| Higher and higher every day, | 9 | /˘·/˘/˘˘· |
| Till over the mast at noon-- | 7 | ······· |
| The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For he heard the loud bassoon. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The bride hath paced into the hall, | 8 | ········ |
| Red as a rose is she; | 6 | ······ |
| Nodding their heads before her goes | 8 | /˘······ |
| The merry minstrelsy. | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Yet he cannot chuse but hear; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And thus spake on that ancient man, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The bright-eyed Mariner. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And now the STORM-BLAST came, and he | 8 | ········ |
| Was tyrannous and strong: | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| He struck with his o'ertaking wings, | 8 | ········ |
| And chased south along. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| With sloping masts and dipping prow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| As who pursued with yell and blow | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Still treads the shadow of his foe | 8 | ···/···· |
| And forward bends his head, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, | 8 | ········ |
| And southward aye we fled. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And now there came both mist and snow, | 8 | ········ |
| And it grew wondrous cold: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And ice, mast-high, came floating by, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As green as emerald. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And through the drifts the snowy clifts | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Did send a dismal sheen: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken-- | 8 | ········ |
| The ice was all between. | 6 | ······ |
| The ice was here, the ice was there, | 8 | ········ |
| The ice was all around: | 6 | ······ |
| It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, | 8 | ········ |
| Like noises in a swound! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| At length did cross an Albatross: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thorough the fog it came; | 6 | /˘···· |
| As if it had been a Christian soul, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| We hailed it in God's name. | 6 | ······ |
| It ate the food it ne'er had eat, | 8 | ········ |
| And round and round it flew. | 6 | ······ |
| The ice did split with a thunder-fit; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The helmsman steered us through! | 6 | ·/···· |
| And a good south wind sprung up behind; | 9 | ········· |
| The Albatross did follow, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And every day, for food or play, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Came to the mariners' hollo! | 8 | ···/˘˘/· |
| In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, | 8 | ········ |
| It perched for vespers nine; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, | 8 | ········ |
| Glimmered the white Moon-shine. | 6 | /˘···· |
| "God save thee, ancient Mariner! | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| From the fiends, that plague thee thus!-- | 7 | ······· |
| Why look'st thou so?"--With my cross-bow | 8 | ········ |
| I shot the ALBATROSS. | 6 | ···/˘· |
Notes from the edition 17
Marginal gloss by Coleridge (1817); notes by Frederick H. Sykes, Coleridge's Ancient Mariner and Select Poems (Scribner, c. 1908).
- Stanza 1 Gloss: An ancient Mariner meeteth three Gallants bidden to a wedding-feast, and detaineth one.
- Stanza 3, line 4 eftsoons. Anglo-Saxon eftsona (eft afterwards, again, + sona soon), reënforced by the adverbial genitive ending -s. Coleridge found the word in Spenser and the old ballads.
- Stanza 4 Gloss: The Wedding-Guest is spellbound by the eye of the old seafaring man, and constrained to hear his tale.
- Stanza 6, line 3 kirk. The Scotch and Northern English form of "church." The old ballads had been preserved chiefly in the North; hence this Northern form came to be looked on as the proper word for church in the ballad style.
- Stanza 7 Gloss: The Mariner tells how the ship sailed southward with a good wind and fair weather, till it reached the Line.
- Stanza 9 Gloss: The Wedding-Guest heareth the bridal music; but the Mariner continueth his tale.
- Stanza 11 Gloss: The ship driven by a storm toward the south pole.
- Stanza 11, line 1 driven. All editions down to Campbell's had "drawn;" but this he believes to have been a misprint, since the narrative seems to require "driven."
- Stanza 14 Gloss: The land of ice, and of fearful sounds where no living thing was to be seen.
- Stanza 14, line 1 clifts. This word arose from a confusion of "cliff," a precipice, and "cleft," a fissure. It was "exceedingly common in the 16th-18th cent.," according to the New English Dict., which gives examples from Captain John Smith, Marlowe, and Defoe.
- Stanza 15, line 4 swound. An archaic form of "swoon," found in Elizabethan English.
- Stanza 16 Gloss: Till a great sea-bird, called the Albatross, came through the snow-fog, and was received with great joy and hospitality.
- Stanza 16, line 2 thorough. "Through" and "thorough" are originally the same word, and in Shakespeare's time both forms were used for the preposition. Cf. Puck's song in "Midsummer Night's Dream," "Thorough bush, thorough briar."
- Stanza 17, line 1 eat. This form (pronounced et) is still in use in England and New England for the past tense of the verb, though in America the form "ate" is now preferred. "Eat" as past participle, however, was archaic or rude even in Coleridge's time.
- Stanza 18 Gloss: And lo! the Albatross proveth a bird of good omen, and followeth the ship as it returned northward through fog and floating ice.
- Stanza 19, line 2 vespers. Properly a liturgical term, meaning the daily evening service in church; then in a more general way "evening." The Century Dict. gives no examples of its use as a nautical term. Probably Coleridge used it to give a suggestion of ante-Reformation times. The more familiar word for the evening service in the English Church is "even-song," but Coleridge in line 595 prefers "the little vesper bell" for its suggestion of medievalism.
- Stanza 20 Gloss: The ancient Mariner inhospitably killeth the pious bird of good omen.
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