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.
First off, my understanding of the ballad stanza is very vague, but I must say that this particular poem is more of a story rather than a poem. With that being said, Colerdige purposely organizes his poem in such a way. This particular poem begins with four lines in each stanza and remains in such away throughout. I think that Colerdige does this in order to keep the reader enaged in the lengthy poem. The stanzas that he choses to make longer seem to be more significant. Coleridge seems to save the long stanzas for description purposes. For instance, in the following stanza Coleridge says, " We listened and looked up side ways!/ Fear at my heart, as at a cup, My life-blood seemed to sip!/The starts were dim, and thick the night,/ The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white;/From the sail the dew didi drip-/Till clomb above eastern bar/The hornéd Moon,with one bright star/Within the nether tip." With this stanza, Colerdige is simply describing the beauty of nature that he is witnessing. With this poem and this stanza, Coleridge is very similar to Blake and Wordsworth who very much appreciated the beauty of nature in different ways. Coleridge's description of the moon is simply beautiful. His admiration for nature is well illustrated. Coleridge in the later stanzas descripes the life and death scenarios but still nature is held as the main element between the two.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was a little hard to understand. Why would he kill the albatross? I don’t get it! Hopefully someone will be able to explain that to me because that is where I got lost. I did like that it was a story though. It was so much easier to read than some of the other poems. It was also more interesting because I wanted to keep reading to know what was going to happen.
DeleteI think he uses this arrangement to make the lines look more like paragraphs in a story. The entire poem is a lengthy story, which makes it so much more interesting to me. Since the poem is different from most poetry, (not speaking of different topics, such as the beauties of different nature sceneries) it focuses on one thing and maybe the author was trying to show us this change. He could be trying to differentiate his poetry from the typical standard because the poem itself is different and is in the form of a story, rather than just observations about something or someone.
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ReplyDeleteSammi,
ReplyDeleteI could not figure out what exactly Colerdige was talking about. I do think that the poem is differnt because it is more of a story rather than a poem. I too hope that we have a chance to discuss it in class. I do think that he is trying to illustrate some sort of change,but the change is hidden throughout the poem. I also think that he is trying to describe nature too and the importance of it. I also agree he does have his own style, but I just wish that I could at least understand some of his message.
In class we discussed possible reasons for Coleridge's deviation from traditional ballad stanza. We highlighed several 5-9 line stanzas throughout the poem and pointed out that these longer stanzas were often specific or important lines of action in the story (often in the mariner's narration).
ReplyDeleteThis concept agreed with my original analysis of the poem. Straying from the conventional ballad structure is effective in drawing audience attention to crucial moments in the narrative, but there are other possibilities that could add to this notion.
I thought about the placement of this poem in Lyrical Ballads, and the intended agenda of this volume of poetry. Although the poem carries (and nods to) the style of a traditional ballad, the longer stanzas collaborate with the supernatural and both assist in defining a new literary voice for the era.
It appears that the longer stanzas are exclusively the narrator's words. It is worth considering the possibility that the longer stanzas are contributing to the mariner's distinction as a character. The longer stanzas may assist the narrator's tale in not only drawing attention to crucial events of the story, but perhaps also to his speaking style, his excitement towards the recollection of these events, or a variety of other possibilities pertaining to the mariner's character.
Damn Jared, that is deep, especially your last paragraph! I agree that the possibility exists that the longer stanza's may assist the narrator's tale at crucial points, or in fact may be Coleridge's speaking style for the old sailor. After careful consideration, I realize we will never really know.
DeleteYour points are very interesting Jared. I think you might be on to something when you mention that perhaps Coleridge decides to deviate from the traditional ballad stanza in order to represent a different literary voice. Lyrical Ballads was indeed a representative work that intended to demonstrate the change in both poetry and English literature present in 18th century. The fact that most of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is still in ballad stanza acknowledges the fact that Coleridge recognized the importance of foundational characteristics of poetry but the longer and rhythmically different stanzas represent Coleridge desire to create a new style of voice and poetry.
DeleteI am so glad we discussed the poem in depth today. My understanding of it was far off. I do think that the longer stanzas illustrate his experience. With this poem,like Blake and Wordsworth, Colerdige shows the difference between innocence (the unkown) and the experinece (the knowledge) one gains withh it. Jared, that is a great observation about the narrator.
ReplyDeleteIn The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Coleridge is playing with the rhyme and the meter of the poem to a very considerable degree. Although the majority of the poem is in ballad stanza some portions of the poem are altered. The start of the poem begins with ballad stanzas and then Coleridge adds a sestet with the rhyme scheme AAABCB. The encounter with this the 12th stanza, where the rhyme and meter is first changed, definitely causes the reader to read this portion with more seriousness. The ballad stanzas seem very sing-song and seem more light hearted. The parts that Coleridge chooses to differentiate with the meter and rhymed seem more intense and very essential to the poem. Some the stanzas that are not ballad stanza like the stanza about the storm, the confession of killing the albatross, the encounter with Death and Life-in-Death, the curse, the Hermit, and the saving of the Mariner are all very important parts of the poem. Perhaps Coleridge veers away from ballad stanza in some sections of the poem to place emphasis on certain parts of the story.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who can see the poem and poet for who they really are? The Rime of the Ancient Mariner reminds me of the sham of a story "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. Not so ironically, both were chemically dependent. A Rose for Emily is really a story that was first written chronologically, then because it was so boring it was flipped around, so that the author could hurry up and get another pack of cigarettes to go with his next drink. Likewise, Coleridge was probably high as a kite and just wanted to finish the piece. Losing his patience, he needed to get his point across, even if he had to break a few rules. The rhyming scheme in the nine liner is AABCCBDDB, unlike anything else in the whole ballad. It was argued in class today that Coleridge was not using Laudanum at the time he wrote this, I argue, who knows for sure when a person who uses first begins? Is a drug addict likely to share all his dark secrets with the whole world? I ask the question to anyone who is living: were you there? did you know the condition of his mind when he wrote the ballad because you were in his presence? Historians can speculate the times of his Laudanum consumption, but I ask, how do they know? Did they measure themselves, did they live in his residence? I cry shenanigan! Like Faulkner, Coleridge is sham. Some people would say I have no right to judge, but since I am a drug addict, I feel I got the right. I say I haven't used drugs since October 16, 2005, but how do you really know? Because I said so?
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon an excellent book about this topic several years ago titled "Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Bondage of Opium". I believe it was published in the 70s
Here, there are hardcover copies for 75 cents and paperbacks for ONE CENT!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812817117/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=
The book is biographical, following the life and history of STC, but special attention is given to his psychological development and dependency on opium.
STC kept a detailed journal throughout his life, later edited and published as "Biographia Literaria", that provided in detail the evolution of his literary life. Many writings and documents revolving around (and authored by) these Romantic poets survive and offer their content as a look into various specific details about their individual lives--open to interpretation, of course. The book uses these among later works to tell STCs story, with speculations about his opium addiction. The material is confident enough in its research to pinpoint the exact date STC was to have first used opium and the reason for it.
I will leave off on this note, and according to this book: although it is unlikely that STCs addiction was present during the construction of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", there is evidence that STC had been casually exposed to opium before the publishing of Lyrical Ballads, as a prescription to laudanum was not uncommon during these days. There is no reason to believe that he was high while writing the poem but as he made revisions to his poetry all his life, one might suspect that he could have been during a revision. I don't intend any of these statements to be profound, but STC has a very interesting story and details about his life highly traceable!
are*
ReplyDeleteWe should be able to edit our comments!
I am going to look for this book now. Thanks!
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