"The very deep did rot: O Christ!That ever this should be!Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs 125Upon the slimy sea.
"About, about, in reel and routThe death-fires[21] danced at night;The water, like a witch's oils,Burnt green, and blue, and white, 130
"And some in dreams assured wereOf the spirit that plagued us so;[22]Nine fathom deep he had followed usFrom the land of mist and snow.
"And every tongue, through utter drought, 135Was withered at the root;We could not speak, no more than ifWe had been choked with soot.
"Ah! well-a-day! what evil looksHad I from old and young! 140Instead of the cross, the AlbatrossAbout my neck was hung."
"There passed a weary time. Each throatWas parched, and glazed each eye.A weary time! a weary time! 145How glazed each weary eye,When, looking westward, I beheldA something in the sky.
"At first it seemed a little speck,And then it seemed a mist; 150It moved and moved, and took at lastA certain shape, I wist.[23]
"A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!And still it neared and neared;As if it dodged a water-sprite, 155It plunged and tacked and veered,
"With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,We could nor laugh nor wail;Through utter drought all dumb we stood!I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, 160And cried, 'A sail! a sail!'
"With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,Agape[24] they heard me call:Gramercy![25] they for joy did grin,And all at once their breath drew in, 165As they were drinking all.
"See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more!Hither to work us weal,[26]Without a breeze, without a tide,She steadies with upright keel! 170
"The western wave was all a-flame,The day was well-nigh done!Almost upon the western waveRested the broad bright Sun;When that strange shape drove suddenly 175Betwixt us and the Sun.
"And straight[27] the Sun was flecked with bars,[28](Heaven's Mother[29] send us grace!)As if through a dungeon grate he peeredWith broad and burning face. 180
"Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud)How fast she nears and nears!Are those her sails that glance in the Sun,Like restless gossameres?[30]
"Are those her ribs through which the Sun 185Did peer, as through a grate?And is that Woman all her crew?Is that a Death? and are there two?Is Death that woman's mate?
"Her lips were red, her looks were free, 190Her locks were yellow as gold:Her skin was as white as leprosy,The Nightmare Life-in-Death[31] was sheWho thicks man's blood with cold.
"The naked hulk alongside came, 195And the twain were casting dice;'The game is done! I've won, I've won!'Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
"The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out;At one stride comes the dark;[32] 200With far-heard whisper o'er the seaOff shot the spectre-bark.
"We listened and looked sideways up!Fear at my heart, as at a cup,My life-blood seemed to sip! 205The stars were dim, and thick the night,The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white;From the sails the dew did drip—Till clomb[33] above the eastern barThe horned Moon, with one bright star 210Within the nether tip.[34]
"One after one, by the star-dogged Moon,Too quick for groan or sigh,Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,And cursed me with his eye. 215
"Four times fifty living men,(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,They dropped down one by one.
"The souls did from their bodies fly,— 220They fled to bliss or woe!And every soul, it passed me by,Like the whizz of my cross-bow!"
"I fear thee,[35] ancient Mariner!I fear thy skinny hand! 225And thou art long, and lank, and brown,[36]As is the ribbed sea-sand,
"I fear thee and thy glittering eye,And thy skinny hand, so brown."—"Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest! 230This body dropped not down.
"Alone, alone, all, all alone,Alone on a wide, wide sea!And never a saint took pity onMy soul in agony. 235
"The many men, so beautiful!And they all dead did lie:And a thousand thousand slimy thingsLived on; and so did I.
"I looked upon the rotting sea, 240And drew my eyes away;I looked upon the rotting deck,And there the dead men lay.
"I looked to heaven and tried to pray;But or ever a prayer had gusht, 245A wicked whisper came, and madeMy heart as dry as dust.
"I closed my lids, and kept them close,And the balls like pulses beat;For the sky and the sea, and the seaand the sky,[37] 250Lay like a load on my weary eye,And the dead were at my feet.
"The cold sweat melted from their limbs,Nor rot nor reek did they:The look with which they looked on me 255Had never passed away.
"An orphan's curse would drag to hellA spirit from on high;But oh! more horrible than thatIs a curse in a dead man's eye! 260Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse,And yet I could not die.
"The moving Moon went up the sky,And nowhere did abide:Softly she was going up, 265And a star or two beside—
"Her beams bemocked the sultry main,[38]Like April hoar-frost spread;But where the ship's huge shadow lay,The charmed water burnt alway 270A still and awful red.
"Beyond the shadow of the ship,I watched the water-snakes:They moved in tracks of shining white,And when they reared, the elfish light 275Fell off in hoary flakes.[39]
"Within the shadow of the shipI watched their rich attire:Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,They coiled and swam; and every track 280Was a flash of golden fire.
"O happy living things! no tongueTheir beauty might declare:A spring of love gushed from my heart,And I blessed them unaware: 285Sure my kind saint took pity on me,And I blessed them unaware.
"The selfsame moment I could pray;And from my neck so freeThe Albatross fell off, and sank 290Like lead into the sea."
"O sleep! it is a gentle thing,Beloved from pole to pole!To Mary Queen the praise be given!She sent the gentle sleep from heaven, 295That slid into my soul.
"The silly[40] buckets on the deck,That had so long remained,I dreamt that they were filled with dew;And when I awoke, it rained. 300
"My lips were wet, my throat was cold,My garments all were dank;[41]Sure I had drunken in my dreams,And still my body drank.
"I moved, and could not feel my limbs: 305I was so light—almostI thought that I had died in sleep,And was a blessed ghost.
"And soon I heard a roaring wind:It did not come anear; 310But with its sound it shook the sails,That were so thin and sere.
"The upper air burst into life!And a hundred fire-flags sheen,[42]To and fro they were hurried about! 315And to and fro, and in and out,The wan[43] stars danced between.
"And the coming wind did roar more loud,And the sails did sigh like sedge;And the rain poured down from one black cloud, 320The Moon was at its edge.
"The thick black cloud was cleft, and stillThe Moon was at its side:Like waters shot from some high crag,The lightning fell with never a jag, 325A river steep and wide.
"The loud wind never reached the ship,Yet now the ship moved on!Beneath the lightning and the MoonThe dead men gave a groan. 330
"They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose,Nor spake, nor moved their eyes;It had been strange, even in a dream,To have seen those dead men rise.
"The helmsman steered, the ship moved on; 335Yet never a breeze up blew;The mariners all gan work[44] the ropes,Where they were wont to do;They raised their limbs like lifeless tools—We were a ghastly crew. 340
"The body of my brother's sonStood by me, knee to knee:The body and I pulled at one rope,But he said nought to me."
"I fear thee, ancient Mariner!" 345"Be calm, thou Wedding-Guest!'Twas not those souls that fled in pain,Which to their corses came again,But a troop of spirits blest:
"For when it dawned—they dropped their arms, 350And clustered round the mast;Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths,And from their bodies passed.
"Around, around, flew each sweet sound,Then darted to the Sun; 355Slowly the sounds came back again,Now mixed, now one by one.
"Sometimes a-dropping from the sky[45]I heard the sky-lark sing;Sometimes all little birds that are, 360How they seemed to fill the sea and airWith their sweet jargoning![46]
"And now 'twas like all instruments,Now like a lonely flute;And now it is an angel's song, 365That makes the heavens be mute.
"It ceased; yet still the sails made onA pleasant noise till noon,A noise like of a hidden brookIn the leafy month of June, 370That to the sleeping woods all nightSingeth a quiet tune.
"Till noon we quietly sailed on,Yet never a breeze did breathe:Slowly and smoothly went the ship, 375Moved onward from beneath.
"Under the keel nine fathom deep,From the land of mist and snow,The spirit slid: and it was heThat made the ship to go. 380The sails at noon left off their tune,And the ship stood still also.
"The Sun, right up above the mast,Had fixed her to the ocean:But in a minute she gan stir, 385With a short uneasy motion—Backwards and forwards half her length,With a short uneasy motion.
"Then, like a pawing horse let go,She made a sudden bound: 390It flung the blood into my head,And I fell down in a swound.[47]
"How long in that same fit I lay,I have not to declare;But ere my living life returned, 395I heard, and in my soul discernedTwo voices in the air.[48]
"'Is it he?' quoth one, 'Is this the man?By Him who died on cross,With his cruel bow he laid full low 400The harmless Albatross.
"'The spirit who bideth by himselfIn the land of mist and snow,He loved the bird that loved the manWho shot him with his bow.' 405
"The other was a softer voice,As soft as honey-dew;[49]Quoth he, 'The man hath penance done,And penance more will do.'"
First Voice
"'But tell me, tell me! speak again, 410Thy soft response renewing—What makes that ship drive on so fast?What is the ocean doing?'"
Second Voice
"'Still as a slave before his lord,The ocean hath no blast; 415His great bright eye most silentlyUp to the Moon is cast—
"'If he may know[50] which way to go;For she guides him smooth or grim.[51]See, brother, see! how graciously 420She looketh down on him.'"
First Voice
"'But why drives on that ship so fast,Without or wave or wind?'"
Second Voice
"'The air is cut away before,And closes from behind. 425
"'Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high!Or we shall be belated:For slow and slow that ship will go,When the Mariner's trance is abated.'
"I woke, and we were sailing on 430As in a gentle weather:'T was night, calm night, the moon was high;The dead men stood together.
"All stood together on the deck,For a charnel-dungeon[52] fitter: 435All fixed on me their stony eyes,That in the Moon did glitter.
"The pang, the curse, with which they died,Had never passed away;I could not draw my eyes from theirs, 440Nor turn them up to pray.
"And now this spell was snapped: once moreI viewed the ocean green,And looked far forth, yet little sawOf what had else been seen— 445
"Like one that on a lonesome roadDoth walk in fear and dread,And having once turned round walks on,And turns no more his head;Because he knows, a frightful fiend 450Doth close behind him tread.
"But soon there breathed a wind on me,Nor sound nor motion made;Its path was not upon the sea,In ripple or in shade. 455
"It raised my hair, it fanned my cheek,Like a meadow-gale of spring—It mingled strangely with my fears,Yet it felt like a welcoming.
"Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship, 460Yet she sailed softly too:Sweetly, sweetly blew the breeze—On me alone it blew.
"Oh! dream of joy! is this indeedThe light-house top I see? 465Is this the hill? is this the kirk?Is this mine own countree?[53]
"We drifted o'er the harbor bar,[54]And I with sobs did pray—O let me be awake, my God! 470Or let me sleep alway.
"The harbor bay was clear as glass,[55]So smoothly it was strewn!And on the bay the moonlight lay,And the shadow of the Moon. 475
"The rock shone bright, the kirk no less,That stands above the rock:The moonlight steeped in silentnessThe steady weathercock.
"And the bay was white with silent light, 480Till, rising from the same,Full many shapes, that shadows were,In crimson colors came.
"A little distance from the prowThose crimson shadows were: 485I turned my eyes upon the deck—Oh, Christ! what saw I there!
"Each corse lay flat, lifeless and flat,And by the holy rood![56]A man all light, a seraph-man, 490On every corse there stood.
"This seraph-band, each waved his hand:It was a heavenly sight!They stood as signals to the land,Each one a lovely light; 495
"This seraph-band, each waved his hand,No voice did they impart[57]—No voice; but oh! the silence sankLike music on my heart.
"But soon I heard the dash of oars, 500I heard the Pilot's cheer;My head was turned perforce, away,And I saw a boat appear.
"The Pilot and the Pilot's boy,I heard them coming fast: 505Dear Lord in heaven! it was a joyThe dead men could not blast.
"I saw a third—I heard his voice:It is the Hermit good!He singeth loud his godly hymns 510That he makes in the wood.He'll shrieve[58] my soul, he'll wash awayThe Albatross's blood."
"This Hermit good lives in that woodWhich slopes down to the sea. 515How loudly his sweet voice he rears!He loves to talk with marineresThat come from a far countree.
"He kneels at morn, and noon, and eve—He hath a cushion plump: 520It is the moss that wholly hidesThe rotted old oak-stump.
"The skiff-boat neared: I heard them talk,'Why, this is strange, I trow![59]Where are those lights so many and fair, 525That signal made but now?'
"'Strange, by my faith!' the Hermit said—'And they answered not our cheer.The planks look warped! and see those sails,How thin they are and sere! 530I never saw aught like to them,Unless perchance it were
"'Brown skeletons of leaves that lagMy forest-brook along;When the ivy-tod[60] is heavy with snow, 535And the owlet whoops to the wolf below,That eats the she-wolf's young.'
"'Dear Lord! it hath a fiendish look—(The Pilot made reply)I am afeared,'[61]—'Push on, push on!' 540Said the Hermit cheerily.
"The boat came closer to the ship,But I nor spake nor stirred;The boat came close beneath the ship,And straight a sound was heard. 545
"Under the water it rumbled on,Still louder and more dread:It reached the ship, it split the bay:The ship went down like lead.
"Stunned by that loud and dreadful sound, 550Which sky and ocean smote;Like one that hath been seven days drownedMy body lay afloat;But, swift as dreams, myself I foundWithin the Pilot's boat. 555
"Upon the whirl, where sank the ship,The boat spun round and round;And all was still, save that the hillWas telling of the sound.
"I moved my lips —the Pilot shrieked 560And fell down in a fit;The holy Hermit raised his eyes,And prayed where he did sit.
"I took the oars: the Pilot's boy,Who now doth crazy go, 565Laughed loud and long, and all the whileHis eyes went to and fro.'Ha! Ha!' quoth he, 'full plain I see,The Devil knows how to row.'
"And now, all in my own countree, 570I stood on the firm land!The Hermit stepped forth from the boat,And scarcely he could stand.
"'O shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man!'The Hermit crossed his brow.[62] 575'Say quick,' quoth he, 'I bid thee say—What manner of man art thou?'
"Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenchedWith a woeful agony,Which forced me to begin my tale; 580And then it left me free.
"Since then, at an uncertain hour,That agony returns:And till my ghastly tale is told,This heart within me burns. 585
"I pass, like night, from land to land;I have strange power of speech;That moment that his face I see,I know the man that must hear me:To him my tale I teach. 590
"What loud uproar bursts from that door!The wedding-guests are there:But in the garden-bower the brideAnd bride-maids singing are:And hark the little vesper bell,[63] 595Which biddeth me to prayer.
"O Wedding-Guest! this soul hath beenAlone on a wide wide sea:So lonely 't was, that God himselfScarce seemed there to be. 600
"O sweeter than the marriage feast,'T is sweeter far to me,To walk together to the kirkWith a goodly company!—
"To walk together to the kirk, 605And all together pray,While each to his great Father bends,Old men, and babes, and loving friends,And youths and maidens gay!
"Farewell, farewell! but this I tell 610To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!—He prayeth well, who loveth wellBoth man and bird and beast.
"He prayeth best, who loveth bestAll things both great and small; 615For the dear God who loveth us,He made and loveth all."
The Mariner, whose eye is bright,Whose beard with age is hoar,Is gone: and now the Wedding-Guest 620Turned from the Bridegroom's door.
He went like one that hath been stunned,And is of sense forlorn:[64]A sadder and a wiser manHe rose the morrow morn. 625
NOTE.—The Ancient Mariner was written in 1797. The plot was suggested by a dream related to Coleridge by one of his friends. While the story is his own invention, he took several points from Shelvocke's Voyages and accepted a few hints from Wordsworth, who furnished also two or three lines of verse. In the beginning the two poets intended to work together, but this plan was found impracticable, and Coleridge proceeded by himself. It is easy to believe that the plot originated in a dream, for the completed poem is one of the strangest, most fantastic dreams that ever formed themselves in a poet's brain. So far as its moral import is concerned, the production will hardly bear close scrutiny, although it teaches the duty of loving all God's creatures, both great and small. The prolonged suffering of the Mariner is a punishment far too severe for his thoughtless act, while his four times fifty comrades, who endure horrible tortures before dying, have been guilty of no crime whatsoever. Still it is not necessary that every piece of literature should teach a consistent moral lesson, andThe Ancient Marinercan be enjoyed for its marvelous pictures and its weird melody.
The form chosen by Coleridge for his production, that of the mediaeval ballad, is peculiarly adapted to story-telling on account of the freedom which it allows, and it has never been more artistically used than in this instance. In harmony with the ballad form the poet uses certain old words, such as "trow," "wist," and "countree." It will be seen that the stanzas vary in length, and that there are occasional irregularities in metre. In general the first and third lines of a stanza have four feet each, while the second and fourth lines have three feet. Only the second and fourth lines rhyme, unless the stanza consists of more than four lines.
[1.] Next of kin, nearest relative.
[2.] Quoth, said.
[3.] Loon, worthless fellow.
[4.] Eftsoons, at once, immediately; a favorite word with the poet Spenser.
[5.] And listens, etc. Wordsworth wrote this line and the line following.
[6.] Kirk, church.
[7.] The Sun came up upon the left. This would be the case if a vessel were going from England, for instance, toward the equator; and each day the sun would be more nearly overhead.
[8.] And now there came both mist and snow. They were nearing the south pole.
[9.] Clifts, clefts, cracks.
[10.] Ken, discern.
[11.] Swound, swoon, fainting fit.
[12.] Albatross. The albatross, the largest of sea birds, is found chiefly in the southern hemisphere, and because of its strength in flight is often seen far from land.
[13.] Thorough, through.
[14.] Shroud. The shrouds are sets of ropes which serve as stays for the masts of a vessel.
[15.] Vespers nine,i.e.nine evenings.VesperandHesperusare names given to the evening star, especially to the planet Venus when it appears in the west soon after sunset. Consult the dictionary for other meanings of the wordvesper.
[16.] Whiles, meanwhile.
[17.] The Sun now rose upon the right. This indicates that the vessel had turned about and was going northward. The poet says in his notes that she soon entered the Pacific Ocean.
[18.] Nor dim nor red, etc. The sun now rose clear and bright, and not dim or red, as when seen through mist or fog; and the sailors justified the Mariner, thinking that by his act the fog had been dispersed. Uprist meansuprose.
[19.] The furrow followed free, i.e. the track, or wake, left by the ship appeared to be gladly following her.
[20.] That silent sea. The vessel had reached the equator.
[21.] Death-fires. There is a superstition that death is sometimes foreshadowed by death-fires or fetch-lights. In this instance the fires presaged the death of the sailors.
[22.] The spirit that plagued us so. This was "the lonesome spirit from the south pole," who was seeking revenge for the death of the albatross.
[23.] I wist, I knew.
[24.] Agape, with mouths open as though surprised.
[25.] Gramercy (from the Frenchgrand-merci), an exclamation formerly used to denote thankfulness with surprise.
[26.] To work us weal, to do us good.
[27.] Straight, straightway, immediately.
[28.] The Sun was flecked with bars. The frame of the skeleton ship showed clearly against the setting sun as she passed before it.
[29.] Heaven's Mother, the Virgin Mary.
[30.] Gossameres, gossamers, cobwebs.
[31.] The Nightmare Life-in-Death. In this strange being the poet personifies the state of a person who lives, as it were, in the shadow of death. The condition called "nightmare" was formerly believed to be caused by the witch Nightmare, who oppressed people during sleep.
[32.] At one stride comes the dark. This is a wonderful picture of the sudden fall of night near the equator, where there is no twilight.
[33.] Clomb, climbed; an old form.
[34.] The horned moon, etc. Coleridge says in a note: "It is a common superstition among sailors that something evil is about to happen whenever a star dogs the moon."
[35.] I fear thee. The wedding guest imagined that the Mariner died with the rest of the sailors and that he was talking with a ghost.
[36.] And thou art long, etc. This line and the line following were written by Wordsworth.
[37.] For the sky, etc. This line, with its repetitions, and the extra length of the stanza, tend to make one feel the load that was pressing upon the Mariner.
[38.] Bemocked the sultry main, mocked the sultry ocean.
[39.] They moved, etc. This description is true of fish of all kinds on a dark night when there is a great deal of phosphorus in the water.
[40.] Silly, frail.
[41.] Dank, damp, wet; seldom used in prose.
[42.] Sheen, bright, glittering.
[43.] Wan, pale.
[44.] Gan work, did work, or began to work.
[45.] Sometimes a-dropping, etc. Notice what a pleasant interlude is made by this stanza and the three which follow.
[46.] Jargoning, confused sounds.
[47.] I fell down in a swound. The poet explains that the vessel, driven by angelic power, sped on with extreme rapidity, and that the Mariner was put into a trance because he could not have endured the motion.
[48.] Two voices in the air. These were the voices of spirits who felt the wrong that had been done to the Spirit of the South Pole by the killing of the albatross.
[49.] Honey-dew, a sweet substance found in small drops on the leaves of trees and plants.
[50.] If he may know, so that he may know.
[51.] For she guides him, etc.,i.e.whether smooth or rough, the ocean is always guided by the moon.
[52.] Charnel-dungeon, a vault where the bones of the dead are kept.
[53.] Countree, country; this form of the word occurs frequently in old ballads.
[54.] Harbor bar, a bank of sand or other matter at the mouth of a harbor, which obstructs navigation.
[55.] The harbor bay, etc. Notice the effect of quietness produced by this line and the eight which follow.
[56.] Holy rood, holy cross.
[57.] Impart, give forth, send forth.
[58.] Shrieve, shrive, hear confession and pronounce absolution. In the earlier ages of the Christian Church it was not uncommon for men to live as hermits, devoting themselves to fasting, penance, and prayer.
[59.] Trow (pronouncedtro), think.
[60.] Ivy-tod, ivy-bush.
[61.] Afeared, afraid; an old form.
[62.] The Hermit crossed his brow. He did this to ward off evil, for he feared that the Mariner was a wicked spirit in human form.
[63.] Vesper bell, a bell calling to evening prayer. See note on l. 76.
[64.] Of sense forlorn, deprived of sense, of feeling.
End of Project Gutenberg's Selections from Five English Poets, by Various