The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, in Seven Parts IV
“I fear thee, ancyent Marinere!“I fear thy skinny hand;“And thou art long and lank and brown“As is the ribb’d Sea-sand.
“I fear thee and thy glittering eye“And thy skinny hand so brown”--Fear not, fear not, thou wedding guest!This body dropt not down.
Alone, alone, all all aloneAlone on the wide wide Sea;And Christ would take no pity onMy soul in agony.
The many men so beautiful,And they all dead did lie!And a million million slimy thingsLiv’d on--and so did I.
I look’d upon the rotting Sea,And drew my eyes away;I look’d upon the eldritch deck,And there the dead men lay.
I look’d to Heaven, and try’d to pray;But or ever a prayer had gusht,A wicked whisper came and madeMy heart as dry as dust.
I clos’d my lids and kept them close,Till the balls like pulses beat;For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the skyLay like a load on my weary eye,And the dead were at my feet.
The cold sweat melted from their limbs,Ne rot, ne reek did they;The look with which they look’d on me,Had never pass’d away.
An orphan’s curse would drag to HellA spirit from on high:But O! more horrible than thatIs the curse in a dead man’s eye!Seven days, seven nights I saw that curseAnd yet I could not die.
The moving Moon went up the skyAnd no where did abide:Softly she was going upAnd a star or two beside--
Her beams bemock’d the sultry mainLike morning frosts yspread;But where the ship’s huge shadow lay,The charmed water burnt alwayA still and awful red.
Beyond the shadow of the shipI watch’d the water-snakes:They mov’d in tracks of shining white;And when they rear’d, the elfish lightFell off in hoary flakes.
Within the shadow of the shipI watch’d their rich attire:Blue, glossy green, and velvet blackThey coil’d and swam; and every trackWas a flash of golden fire.
O happy living things! no tongueTheir beauty might declare:A spring of love gusht from my heart,And I bless’d them unaware!Sure my kind saint took pity on me,And I bless’d them unaware.
The self-same moment I could pray;And from my neck so freeThe Albatross fell off, and sankLike lead into the sea.
Words in this poem
- skinny a.
- Consisting, or chiefly consisting, of skin; wanting flesh.
- eldritch a.
- Hideous; ghastly; as, an eldritch shriek or laugh. [Local, Eng.]
- reek n.
- A rick. B. Jonson.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- elfish a.
- Of or relating to the elves; elflike; implike; weird; scarcely human; mischievous, as though caused by elves.
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- unaware a.
- Not aware; not noticing; giving no heed; thoughtless; inattentive.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, in Seven Parts IV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems (1798), Project Gutenberg ebook #9622; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Wordsworth, The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, in Seven Parts IV, in Lyrical Ballads (1798), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9622, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lyrical-ballads/the-rime-of-the-ancyent-marinere-in-seven-parts-iv.html, id L02845.
Form and metre
The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, in Seven Parts IV is 68 lines in 15 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 -A-A marinere · handA · brown · sandA
- 2 -A-A eye · brownA · guest · downA
- 4 -A-A beautiful · lieA · things · iA
- 5 -A-A sea · awayA · deck · layA
- 7 -ABBA close · beatA · skyB · eyeB · feetA
- 8 -A-A limbs · theyA · me · awayA
- 9 -A-A-A hell · highA · that · eyeA · curse · dieA
- 10 -A-A sky · abideA · up · besideA
- 11 -A--A main · yspreadA · lay · alway · redA
- 12 -ABBA ship · snakesA · whiteB · lightB · flakesA
- 13 -ABBA ship · attireA · blackB · trackB · fireA
- 14 -A-A-A tongue · declareA · heart · unawareA · me · unawareA
- 15 -A-A pray · freeA · sank · seaA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “I fear thee, ancyent Marinere! | 8 | ········ |
| “I fear thy skinny hand; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “And thou art long and lank and brown | 8 | ········ |
| “As is the ribb’d Sea-sand. | 6 | ······ |
| “I fear thee and thy glittering eye | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| “And thy skinny hand so brown”-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fear not, fear not, thou wedding guest! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| This body dropt not down. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Alone, alone, all all alone | 8 | ˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Alone on the wide wide Sea; | 7 | ˘/····· |
| And Christ would take no pity on | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My soul in agony. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| The many men so beautiful, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| And they all dead did lie! | 6 | ······ |
| And a million million slimy things | 9 | ··/˘/˘/˘· |
| Liv’d on--and so did I. | 6 | ······ |
| I look’d upon the rotting Sea, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And drew my eyes away; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I look’d upon the eldritch deck, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And there the dead men lay. | 6 | ······ |
| I look’d to Heaven, and try’d to pray; | 8 | ···/···· |
| But or ever a prayer had gusht, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| A wicked whisper came and made | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| My heart as dry as dust. | 6 | ······ |
| I clos’d my lids and kept them close, | 8 | ········ |
| Till the balls like pulses beat; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky | 12 | ············ |
| Lay like a load on my weary eye, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the dead were at my feet. | 7 | ······· |
| The cold sweat melted from their limbs, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ne rot, ne reek did they; | 6 | ······ |
| The look with which they look’d on me, | 8 | ········ |
| Had never pass’d away. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| An orphan’s curse would drag to Hell | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A spirit from on high: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But O! more horrible than that | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Is the curse in a dead man’s eye! | 8 | ········ |
| Seven days, seven nights I saw that curse | 8 | /·/····· |
| And yet I could not die. | 6 | ······ |
| The moving Moon went up the sky | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And no where did abide: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Softly she was going up | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| And a star or two beside-- | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Her beams bemock’d the sultry main | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like morning frosts yspread; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But where the ship’s huge shadow lay, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| The charmed water burnt alway | 8 | ··˘/˘·/˘ |
| A still and awful red. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Beyond the shadow of the ship | 8 | ···/···· |
| I watch’d the water-snakes: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They mov’d in tracks of shining white; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And when they rear’d, the elfish light | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fell off in hoary flakes. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Within the shadow of the ship | 8 | ···/···· |
| I watch’d their rich attire: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Blue, glossy green, and velvet black | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They coil’d and swam; and every track | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Was a flash of golden fire. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| O happy living things! no tongue | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Their beauty might declare: | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| A spring of love gusht from my heart, | 8 | ········ |
| And I bless’d them unaware! | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Sure my kind saint took pity on me, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And I bless’d them unaware. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The self-same moment I could pray; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And from my neck so free | 6 | ······ |
| The Albatross fell off, and sank | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Like lead into the sea. | 6 | ······ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.