The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 
Part I
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three,
‘By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stoppest thou me?
The Bridegroom’s doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May’st hear the merry din.’
He holds him with his skinny hand,
‘There was a ship,’ quoth he.
‘Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!’
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
He holds him with his glittering eye –
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listened like a three years’ child
The Mariner hath his will.
The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone;
He cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
‘The ship was cheered, the harbor cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.
The sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright and on the right
Went down into the sea.
Higher and higher every day,
Till over the mast at noon – ‘
The wedding guest here beat his breast,
For he heard the loud bassoon.
The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she;
Nodding their heads before her goes
The merry minstrelsy.
The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast,
Yet he cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
‘and now the Storm-Blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o’ertaking wings,
And chased us south along. […]
And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald. […]
At length did cross an Albatross,
Thorough the fog came it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God’s name.
It ate the food it ne’er had eat,
And round and round it flew,
The ice did split with a thunder fit;
The helmsman steered us through!
And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The Albatross did follow,
And every day for food or play,
Came to the mariner’s hollo! […]
‘God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus! –
Why look’st thou so?’ – With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge remains one of the treasures of English Literature. It is among the very well-known long poems. It is a gem of literature as much for its captivating rhythm and memorable qualities as for the frightful tale it tells and the value of its meaning to the existence of mankind and its critical place in poetry.
