Chapter 16
The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Answer the following questions with reference to context
1. …Nor any day for food or play came to the mariner’s
hollo!
a. Who is being referred to in the given lines? Explain the
meaning of the lines in your own words?
Ans. The albatross is being referred to in the given lines. It
means that day after day, the bird did not respond to the
mariner's call either to come to play or for food.
b. who is the mariner? Who else was with him at the time?
Ans. The 'mariner' who is both the narrator of the poem,
and the sailor himself who had shot the bird. The other
members of the ship's crew were with him at that time.
c. Where was the mariner? What was the weather in the
place?
Ans. The mariner was near the South Pole. Though there
was a favourable south wind, the sun which had finally
risen still hid in mist.
2. The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow
followed free; We were the first that ever burst into that
silent sea.
a. Explain the instances of personification in the first two
lines.
Ans. The ship's furrow or track has been personified as a
human being, following the sailing ship freely.
b. How did things change after they reached the ‘silent
sea’?
Ans. When they reached the 'silent sea', the breeze and the
sails both dropped down and the ship stopped sailing
altogether.
c. How does the poet describe the appearance of the sun?
How does he describes it later in the poem?
Ans. The poet first describes the sun as appearing from out
of the mist and later sinking back into the sea. After the
fog and mist is gone, the sun rises in its full glory, looking
like the halo around God's head. But later in the poem,
after the ship bursts into the 'silent sea', the colour of the
sun is compared to that of blood. The sun is said to be
present right above the mast, as big as the moon, in a hot
and copper-tinged sky.
3. Water, water, everyone, and all the boards did shrink;
water, water, everyone, nor any drop to drink.
a. Why was there no water to drink? What was its impact
on the sailors?
Ans. There was no water to drink because the only water
available was salty sea water, unfit for drinking. Since the
ship had come to a standstill, the sailors' tongues grew
withered from thirst and they were unable to speak,
feeling as if they were choked with soot.
b. How is the water around the ship described in a later
stanza?
Ans. In a later stanza, the water around the ship is
compared to witch's oils, as it burns in shades of green,
blue and white. It felt as if the sea itself had turned
rotten, with slimy things crawling around in the slimy sea.
c. What, according to the sailors, was haunting them? How
had it followed them?
Ans. According to the sailors, the spirit of the dead
albatross was haunting them. It had followed them nine
fathoms deep into the sea from the land of mist and snow.
d. Explain the significance of repeating the lines ‘water,
eater, everywhere’.
Ans. These lines have been repeated to emphasise the irony
of the sailors being surrounded by water all around the
ship yet dying of thirst as the water was unfit for
drinking.
