The rime of the ancient mariner figurative language. How is figurative language used in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner? 2022-11-09

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge that is rich in figurative language. This essay will examine some of the most prominent examples of figurative language used in the poem, including personification, metaphor, and simile.

One of the most prominent examples of figurative language in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is personification. Personification is when an inanimate object or concept is given human qualities. In the poem, the sea is personified as a living, breathing entity, with the lines "the very deep did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be!" (Line 56) and "The very deeps did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea" (Line 57) suggesting that the sea is alive and has the ability to rot or decay. Additionally, the winds are personified as malevolent spirits, with the lines "The very deeps did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea" (Line 57) and "The very deeps did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea" (Line 57) suggesting that the winds have the ability to cause chaos and destruction.

Another example of figurative language in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the use of metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another, without using the words "like" or "as." In the poem, the Mariner's journey is metaphorically described as a "life-in-death" (Line 4), with the lines "The very deep did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea" (Line 57) and "The very deeps did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea" (Line 57) suggesting that the Mariner's journey is a kind of purgatory, in which he is suspended between life and death.

Finally, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner also contains several examples of simile, which is a figure of speech that compares two things using the words "like" or "as." For example, the Mariner's thirst is described as "like a fire that fades and sinks" (Line 65), and the moon is described as "like a white seamark on the sea" (Line 69). These similes add imagery and depth to the descriptions, helping the reader to better understand and visualize the experiences of the Mariner.

In conclusion, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem that is full of figurative language, including personification, metaphor, and simile. These literary devices add depth and complexity to the poem, helping the reader to better understand the experiences and emotions of the Mariner as he navigates his journey through life and death.

Examples Of Imagery In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

The mariner's nephew stands near him as they work, but the boy never speaks. How loudly his sweet voice he rears! This quote shows the extreme change between the hot African veldt, and the mysterious imaginary forest of love and paradise. For example, waves and caves, deep and weep lines 1-3. Samuel Taylor Coleridge published The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1798. The syntax shows that the author has mastered the art of sentence making,… Literary Devices In Sonnet 73 These alliterations place emphasis on key points in the poem.

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The Use of Figurative Language in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

Their eyes, unchanged from the moment of their deaths, still accuse him. Although there are multiple examples of incredible writing through the piece of literature, I will display only a couple of examples of the imagery in this poem. How long in that same fit I lay, I have not to declare; But ere my living life returned, I heard and in my soul discerned Two voices in the air. The mariner recognizes several landmarks, including the lighthouse and a church. When he is finally able to recognize the beauty of the water snakes, his isolation ends. Upon the whirl, where sank the ship, The boat spun round and round; And all was still, save that the hill Was telling of the sound.

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

His epic similes gave a romantic description of critical, emotion filled scenes. Its sails are tattered and thin, and the only passengers are Death and Life-in-Death. It takes him so long to understand that he has committed a heinous crime. I love reading it, but I struggle to teach it. This body dropt not down. I had attempted teaching it before, but it fell terribly flat.

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Analysis

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

My lips were wet, my throat was cold, My garments all were dank; Sure I had drunken in my dreams, And still my body drank. The Sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he! He went like one that hath been stunned, And is of sense forlorn: A sadder and a wiser man, He rose the morrow morn. Furthermore, in The Wars we are met with a less metaphorical representation of memories having an evocative effect on the life of Robert Ross. The mariner drinks until his thirst is quenched. Coleridge also addresses other themes typically found in Romantic literature, including strong human emotions and the issue of sin and restoration. And now this spell was snapt: once more I viewed the ocean green, And looked far forth, yet little saw Of what had else been seen— Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round walks on, And turns no more his head; Because he knows, a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread. Despite this story using a various approach towards manipulating us to the theme, the poem uses literary and symbolic devices to exhibit the poets life.

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Literary Devices Lesson Plan

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

And some in Of the Spirit that plagued us so; Nine fathom deep he had followed us From the land of mist and snow. He reveals to the wedding guest the lesson he learned as a result of his experience. The self-same moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea. The loud wind never reached the ship, Yet now the ship moved on! When he notices how beautiful the water snakes around the ship are, he is finally able to pray again. And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. The sails at noon left off their tune, And the ship stood still also.


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How is figurative language used in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

The bird has brought joy and good fortune, and once the man thoughtlessly kills the albatross, all aboard are made to suffer. They are stunned when the mariner begins to speak. Is this mine own countree? The rock shone bright, the kirk no less, That stands above the rock: The moonlight steeped in silentness The steady weathercock. Samuel Coleridge used figurative language and unorthodox verse structure to describe the tragic, lesson-filled past of a sailor and portray literary elements of Romanticism and its ideals. The many men, so beautiful! They are surrounded by water without any hope of survival, and it has all occurred as a punishment for the murder of the albatroz. The mariner will soon repeat the penance step again as he has done with the wedding guest. The wedding guest again admits that he is afraid, but the mariner assures him the bodies were animated by spirits, not the men themselves.

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Allusions In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

The Quest For Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 839 Words 4 Pages The book begins with the character Robert Walton, a captain of a ship. The narrative poem describes the ancient mariner's experience aboard a ship after he kills an albatross. Literary Devices In Cyrano De Bergerac 724 Words 3 Pages We can see that the quote is demonstrating the impatient approach towards love in within someone increases when beauty does not surround you. It was first published in 1798. The mariner is floating motionlessly in the water, so the pilot and hermit at first believe he is dead as they drag him into the rescue boat. Coleridge addresses each of these themes in the poem.

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Teaching "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

Structured in six parts, the poem is a narrative that tells a dramatic tale of the sea. Even after many years of the incident, he still feels the same need to save them. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Themes Coleridge explores several themes in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Another example of when it is important to know the history behind the language used is while reading Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. It was the first poem in the collection of poems by Coleridge and William Wordsworth. Coleridge uses these narrative techniques, such as metaphors, similes, and inversion, to create different moods and sensory perceptions in different parts of the poem. After the dead sailors steer the ship toward its home port, the final supernatural event occurs when the ship spontaneously sinks.


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Figurative Language In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

the rime of the ancient mariner figurative language

His depravity is made apparent through the shooting of the bird, and his redemption is far from certain. They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose, Nor spake, nor moved their eyes; It had been strange, even in To have seen those dead men rise. It isn't as if the Mariner completes his voyage and then surrounds himself with nonhuman animals--he remains anthropocentric. 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! The albatross continues to follow the ship, and the mariner calls to it and feeds it every day. A squall blows up, but the wind never touches the ship. I did break the students up into groups to focus their reading on certain recurring motifs or themes in the poem, and I noticed that all of these motifs came back to a discussion about the indeterminacy in the poem between 1 free will and fate and 2 salvation and damnation.

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