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Question
Why does the ancient Mariner compel the wedding guest to listen to his story?
Solution
The ancient mariner compels the wedding guest to listen to his story because he is driven by guilt for killing the albatross and suffers from agony. He wanders around from place to place to tell his story to different people because when he tells his story to someone he is temporarily relieved from his agony. Besides, he also wants to preach the lesson he learnt from the incident that took place to other people. The mariner has the power of sensing whom he should tell the tale. He says towards the end of the poem that the moment he sees a man’s face, he knows whether he should tell him the story or not. Thus, in a way he is bound to tell his story to the wedding guest.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
1. What can you see in the picture? Does the man look happy? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Why does he have the bird hanging around his neck?
3. Have you heard of the expression-'having an albatross around your neck'? What do you
think it means? Does it mean:
a. something that you can always be proud of
b. something that you have to do because you have no choice
c. something that is with you all the time as a reminder that you have done something wrong?
4. What is an albatross?
Answer the following by choosing the right option from those given below:
The wedding guest remarked that he was 'next of kin' It meant that ……..
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The Wedding-Guest beat his breast because…………
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The sailors were happy to see the albatross because……..
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The two things that happened after the arrival of the albatross were ……
Answer the following question briefly:
What is the irony in the ninth stanza? Explain it in your own words.
Answer the following question briefly:
What is the narrator trying to convey through the description of the situation in the tenth and eleventh stanza ?
Answer the following question briefly:
Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the thirteenth stanza.
Answer the following question briefly:
Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?
The poem is full of strange, uncanny or supernatural elements. Discuss how these elements appear in the poem. You should consider:
- the strange weather;
- the albatross as a bird of "good omen"
- the spirit from "the land of mist and snow''
- the strange slimy creatures seen in the sea
- the ocean appearing to rot
- the death fires and sea water being referred to as witch's oil
Now write a paragraph about the supernatural elements in the poem and how they add
to the events that take place in the poem.
