The Ancient Mariner

I know I said that I would only ask questions in this space about works we had already discussed, but after the two quizzes and seeing your responses to the blog, I think we can do this in preparation for class on Monday.

We did say in class that The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is written mostly in ballad stanza, but that Coleridge also uses stanzas of five and six lines.  As is everything poetic, this is clearly deliberate.  So, what might be the reason he chose to alter the pattern (and meter, so thus the rhythm) of the poem?  What is the effect of the longer stanzas on your idea of the meaning of the poem?

Remember, there is no one correct answer to this question.  It is simply a chance for you to think critically about the form of the poem, and how that form influences or informs the meaning.

Intimations of Immortality? Really???

We only touched on this in relation to the quiz, but I think that we have read enough of the other Wordsworth poems to explore some meanings of  "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of  Early Childhood."  The title suggests a great deal, I think.  Intimate means to make known indirectly, to hint, imply or suggest.  So what intimations of immortality does the speaker say live in us from childhood? 

See if you can find specific references in the poem when the speaker explores the difference between experiencing nature as a child  and experiencing it as an adult.  As you recall, he mentions this also in "Tintern Abby" when the speaker states,  ""For I have learned / To look on nature, not as in the hour / Of thougthless youth" (88-90).

The mood is set in the first stanza, so perhaps you can start with that.