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Stanza 7-15

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Stanza 7 and the first two lines of stanza 8

introduce the dominant heavenly body of

this other world- the sun.

The suns progress through the sky marks the

geographical location of the ship as it

journeys to the equator.

It also marks the passage of time.

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Is there any significance in the fact that the

sun is not presented here as heavens eye,

but rather as an objective fact of geography?

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The wedding guest hears the loud bassoon atthis point- and wants to go but cannot.

What contribution does the alliterative use of bmake to the definition of the depth of hisfruastration and, perhaps, to the definition ofthe sound of the bassoon?

Is bassoon onomatopoeic? Does its hollow, echoing sound also provide an

overture to the supernatural presence which isso important to the atmosphere of the poem?

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The bride makes her entrance- the gaiety in herstep suggested by the lightness of the rhythm ofstanza 9 and the quickened pace derived from

the and forth lines of this stanza. This real world is much less threatening than the

other world of the sea to which the marinerwants to transport his listener.

Is the relative insignificance of the former bycomparison suggested by the clich used todescribe her flushed complexion?

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The contrast between the brides lightness ofspirit and that of the remainder of her guests,and the angst now felt by the mariners

detainnee is now even more marked- yet thelatter remains transfixed by the old man.

Again the supernatural force that holds him isdefined by the repeated description of theadvance years of the mariner and his

glittering eye.

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Does this repetition of the mariners key

traits and of the effect on the wedding-guest

create a sense of mysticism beyond mere

human magnetism?

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Stanzas 11-15 recapture the intensity and

sublimity of the mariners experience as the

ship sailed into the Southern Ocean towards

the south pole.

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Consider

The effect of the capitalisation of storm-blast.Is what is conjured up here the traditionalillustrations of the wind in ancient cartography?Is the personification of storm-blast a

celebration of the power of the wind as well as asuggestion that it is an expression of the divineor of the supernatural force which rules all theuniverse? Does the reference to wings conjure

up an image of an angel and thereby introduce aconsciousness of the divine presence in this vastsea world?

Is there also created a sense of divine

playfulness with humankind?

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This realm

Is curiously animate yet devoid of living

creatures apart from the ships crew. It is eerily

lit by the dismal sheen ( line 56) of the

snowy cliffs. How significant is the sense of

other worldliness which is created here?

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The repetition and onomatopoeia (61-62) of

stanza 15 complete the description- the

sounds it delineates area terrible statement

of natures power and of its destructive

capacity.

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The albatross

Into this surreal world flies the albatross

(reminiscent perhaps of the dove which came

to alight on the hand of Noah as a harbinger

of Gods forgiveness and of the subsidence of

the waters which threatened the very

existence of all humankind).The positive

divinity represented by he albatross isexemplified in the simile of lines 65-6.

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Albatross and the mariners- partaking in theirfood as a form of communion.

The favourable divine intervention it

represents manifests itself in the splitting ofthe ice and the thoroughfare immediatelyprovided to the ship through these elementswhich threaten to engulf it, and in thefavourable south wind which sprung up todrive the ship onward to safety.

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Undoubtedly, the albatross was a good omen.

It participated in the spiritual as well as the

daily life of the crew.

It appeared unaffected and independent of

the destructive elements with which it was

surrounded. Yet is there not a sinister

suggestion in the glimmering of the moon-shine, a kind of presentiment of evil?

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Unaccountably- except as an expression of the

flawed, sinful nature of humankind and as an

individual expression of the evil presence

suggested in the moonshine- the mariner shot

the albatross.

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Consider

The dramatic precursor to the admission ofthe crime provided by the wedding guestsdramatic response and the evocation of Gods

blessing at the mariners trouble appearance The dramatic identification by the wedding

guest of the presence of fiends in theuniverse, before admission by the mariner to afact which identifies him as a companion ofdark forces.