Imagery in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is packed full of imagery. However, there were two in particular that really caught my eye.
The first was of the iceberg that the sailors passed on their way to the South Pole. I thought that this image was so beautiful. Coleridge wrote, “And now there came both mist and snow, And it grew wondrous cold: And ice, mast-high, came floating by, as green as emerald.” Later, Coleridge also wrote, “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!” Coleridge painted a perfect picture in my mind of the ship's surroundings in the South Pole. My favorite part was when he described the height of the iceberg as mast-high, and the color as emerald green. He could have just stated that the iceberg was really tall and green. But the way Coleridge described it makes the iceberg sound beautiful and majestic. I also enjoyed that fact that the iceberg’s sounds were included in the description. This only added to the enchantment of the picture.
The second imagery used, which I found even more fascinating than that of the iceberg, was the one that described the thirst of the cursed sailors. Coleridge described it as, “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.” He also wrote, “With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, We could not laugh or wail; Through utter drought all dumb we stood! I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, And cried, A sail ! a sail !” After reading this I almost felt thirsty for the poor sailors. The images of the soot, the black lips baked and the drought were the most powerful to me. I also loved the part where Coleridge described how the ancient mariner had to bite his own arm and suck his own blood just to get enough moisture in his mouth to speak. I think the imagery used here really drove home the point that the sailors were cursed men. I could almost feel their anguish just by reading about it.
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4 comments:
I also really liked how Coleridge's imagery painted a vivid picture to his reader. I also wondered why the icebergs were so important while I was reading the poem, because I wasn't sure why he was spending so much time painting a picture of them. As I read on, I realized he is a writer who paints vivid pictures for all of the images he describes, a fact which heightened my enjoyment of his poem as a whole. I also really liked the image he made in my mind when I read the line where the mariner drinks his own blood so he can get a few words out. I think that really exaggerated just how parched they all were. I noticed the same things when I was reading the poem, which made me think as well. I liked that your blog talked about things I was wondering about too.
I felt that reading the Rime of the Ancient Mariner was a much easier read than the Lady of Shallot due to Coleridge's use of vivid imagery. Through imagery he allowed me to picture exactly the predicament that he and his men faced during their voyage. Your inferences about the iceberg and the deathly stare of his men was the icing on the imagery cake. He even talked about how the ice sounded and the way it was colored. Great analysis of the poem.
Although I felt the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to be a difficult read the level of imagery the author uses is quite fascinating. The two examples you give are evidence to that fact. Coleridge's word usage allows me to accurately create the scene, such as that of the iceberg and the suffering sailors, and grasp the emotion that is tied into the image.
The two images you chose to discuss truly pulled me into the poem. You commented on Coleridge's description of the iceburg. Like you, I also felt as if I was standing in that boat hearing and feeling the surroundings. There's an aspect of his writing that makes it so captivating. I think its his way of using bold images while at the same time capturing the nuances of the senses. The "emerald" of the iceburg is a good example. I feel that iceburgs probably don't appear green at first glance, but, with the glare the sun, and the mist and perhaps even the affects of dehydration, the Ancient Mariner saw that subtler aspects of his surroundings.
After reading the part about thirst I actually had to get up and get something to drink. That was also a good example of how Colerigde grabs the reader and makes him/her feel as the men on the boat did.
I enjoyed reading about how the poem made you feel but I think if you had commented more on the technical aspects of the poem it would have added to what you said.
Good Job!
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