{"id":270,"date":"2019-04-08T15:39:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T15:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/?page_id=270"},"modified":"2019-04-09T01:54:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T01:54:49","slug":"the-rime-of-the-ancyent-marinere-1798-plain-text","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/texts\/1798-ed-lyrical-ballads-rime-of-the-ancyent-mariner\/the-rime-of-the-ancyent-marinere-1798-plain-text\/","title":{"rendered":"1798 \u2219 Rime of the Ancyent Marinere \u2219 Plain Text"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere<\/span><\/h2>\n

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge<\/p>\n

It is an <\/span>ancyent Marinere,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd he stoppeth one of three:<\/span>
\n“By thy long grey beard and thy glittering eye<\/span>
\n“Now wherefore stoppest me?<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Bridegroom’s doors are <\/span>open’d wide<\/span><\/span>
\n“And I am next of kin;<\/span>
\n“The Guests are met, the Feast is\u00a0s<\/span>et,\u2014<\/span>
\n“May’st hear the merry din.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But <\/span>still he holds the wedding-guest\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nThere was a Ship, quoth he\u2014<\/span>
\n“Nay, if thou<\/span>‘st got a <\/span>laughsome tale,<\/span><\/span>
\n“Marinere! come with me.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He holds him with his skinny hand,<\/span>
\nQuoth he, there was a Ship\u2014<\/span>
\n“Now get thee hence, thou grey-beard Loon!<\/span>
\n“Or my Staff shall make thee skip.<\/span><\/p>\n

He holds him with his glittering eye\u2014<\/span>
\nThe wedding guest stood still<\/span>
\nAnd listens like a three year’s child;<\/span>
\nThe Marinere hath his will.<\/span><\/p>\n

The wedding-gues<\/span>t sate on a stone,<\/span>
\nHe cannot chuse but hear:<\/span>
\nAnd thus spake on that <\/span>ancyent man.<\/span><\/span>
\nThe bright-eyed Marinere.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Ship was <\/span>cheer’d, the Harbour <\/span>clear’d\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nMerrily did we drop<\/span>
\nBelow the Kirk, below the Hill,<\/span>
\nBelow the Light-house top.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sun came up upon the left,<\/span>
\nOut of the Sea came he:<\/span>
\nAnd he shone bright, and on the right<\/span>
\nWent down into the Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Higher and higher every day,<\/span>
\nTill over the mast at noon\u2014<\/span>
\nThe wedding-guest here beat his breast,<\/span>
\nFor he heard the loud bassoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bride hath <\/span>pac’d into the Hall,<\/span><\/span>
\nRed as a rose is she;<\/span>
\nNodding their heads before <\/span>her goes<\/span><\/span>
\nThe merry Minstralsy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The wedding-guest he beat his breast,<\/span>
\nYet he cannot chuse but hear:<\/span>
\nAnd thus spake on that <\/span>ancyent Man,<\/span><\/span>
\nThe bright-eyed Marinere.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen, Stranger! Storm and Wind,<\/span>
\nA Wind and Tempest strong!<\/span>
\nFor days and <\/span>weeks it <\/span>play’d us freaks\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nLike Chaff we drove along.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen, Stranger! Mist and Snow,<\/span>
\nAnd it grew wond’rous cauld:<\/span>
\nAnd Ice mast-high came floating by<\/span>
\nAs green as Emerauld.<\/span><\/p>\n

And thro’ the drifts the\u00a0s<\/span>nowy clifts<\/span>
\nDid send a dismal sheen;<\/span>
\nNe shapes of men <\/span>ne beasts we ken\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nThe Ice was all between.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Ice was here, the Ice was there,<\/span>
\nThe Ice was all around:<\/span>
\nIt <\/span>crack’d and <\/span>growl’d, and <\/span>roar’d and <\/span>howl’d\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nLike noises of a swound.<\/span><\/p>\n

At length did cross an Albatross,<\/span>
\nThorough the Fog it came;<\/span>
\nAnd <\/span>an it were a Christian Soul,<\/span><\/span>
\nWe hail’d it in God’s name.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Marineres gave it biscuit-worms,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd round and round it flew:<\/span>
\nThe Ice did split with a Thunder-fit;<\/span>
\nThe Helmsman steer’d us thro’.<\/span><\/p>\n

And a good south wind sprung up behind,<\/span>
\nThe Albatross did follow;<\/span>
\nAnd every day for food or play<\/span>
\nCame to the Marinere’s hollo!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In mist or cloud on mast or shroud<\/span>
\nIt perch’d for vespers nine,<\/span>
\nWhiles all the night thro’ fog smoke-white<\/span>
\nGlimmer’d the white moon-shine.<\/span><\/p>\n

“God save thee, <\/span>ancyent Marinere!<\/span><\/span>
\n“From the fiends that plague thee thus\u2014<\/span>
\n“Why look’st thou so?”\u2014with my <\/span>cross bow<\/span>
\nI shot the Albatross.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

II.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

The Sun came up upon the right,<\/span>
\nOut of the Sea came he;<\/span>
\nAnd broad as a weft upon the left<\/span>
\nWent down into the Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the good south wind still blew behind,<\/span>
\nBut no sweet Bird did follow<\/span>
\nNe any day for food or play<\/span>
\nCame to the Marinere’s hollo!<\/span><\/p>\n

And I had done <\/span>an hellish thing<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd it would work ’em woe:<\/span>
\nFor all <\/span>averr’d, I <\/span>had kill’d the Bird<\/span><\/span>
\nThat made the Breeze to blow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ne dim <\/span>ne red, like God’s own head,<\/span><\/span>
\nThe glorious Sun uprist:<\/span>
\nThen all <\/span>averr’d, I <\/span>had kill’d the Bird<\/span><\/span>
\nThat brought the fog and mist.<\/span>
\n‘Twas right, said they, such birds to slay<\/span>
\nThat bring the fog and mist.<\/span><\/p>\n

The breezes blew, the white foam flew,<\/span>
\nThe furrow follow’d free:<\/span>
\nWe were the first that ever burst<\/span>
\nInto that silent Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Down <\/span>dropt the breeze, the Sails <\/span>dropt down,<\/span><\/span>
\n‘Twas sad as sad could be<\/span>
\nAnd we did speak only to break<\/span>
\nThe silence of the Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All in a hot and copper sky<\/span>
\nThe bloody sun at noon,<\/span>
\nRight up above the mast did stand,<\/span>
\nNo bigger than the moon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Day after day, day after day,<\/span>
\nWe stuck, ne breath ne motion,<\/span>
\nAs idle as a painted Ship<\/span>
\nUpon a painted Ocean,<\/span><\/p>\n

Water, water, <\/span>every where<\/span>
\nAnd all the boards did shrink;<\/span>
\nWater, water, <\/span>every where,<\/span><\/span>
\nNe any drop to drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

The very deeps did rot: O Chris<\/span>t!<\/span>
\nThat ever this should be!<\/span>
\nYea, slimy things did crawl with legs<\/span>
\nUpon the slimy Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

About, about, in reel and rout<\/span>
\nThe Death-fires danc’d at night;<\/span>
\nThe water, like a witch’s oils,<\/span>
\nBurnt green and blue and white,<\/span><\/p>\n

And some in dreams assured were<\/span>
\nOf the Spirit that plagued us so:<\/span>
\nNine <\/span>fathom deep he <\/span>had follow’d us<\/span><\/span>
\nFrom the Land of Mist and Snow.<\/span><\/p>\n

And every tongue thro’ utter drouth<\/span>
\nWas withered at the root;<\/span>
\nWe <\/span>could not speak no more than if<\/span><\/span>
\nWe had been choked with soot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ah wel-a-day! what evil looks<\/span><\/span>
\nHad I from old and young;<\/span>
\nInstead of the Cross the Albatross<\/span>
\nAbout my neck was hung.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

III.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

I saw <\/span>a something in the Sky<\/span><\/span>
\nNo bigger than my fist;<\/span>
\nAt <\/span>first it <\/span>seem’d a little speck<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd then it seem’d a mist:<\/span>
\nIt <\/span>mov’d and <\/span>mov’d, and took at last<\/span><\/span>
\nA certain shape, I wist.<\/span><\/p>\n

A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!<\/span>
\nAnd still it ner’d and ner’d;<\/span>
\nAnd, <\/span>an it dodg’d a water-sprite,<\/span><\/span>
\nIt plung’d and tack’d and veer’d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

With <\/span>throat unslack’d, with black lips <\/span>bak’d<\/span>
\nNe could we laugh, ne wail:<\/span>
\nThen while thro’ drouth all dumb they stood<\/span>
\nI bit my arm and <\/span>suck’d the blood<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd cry’d, A sail! a sail!<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span>throat unslack’d, with black lips <\/span>bak’d<\/span>
\nAgape they hear’d me call:<\/span>
\nGramercy! they for joy did grin<\/span>
\nAnd all at once their breath drew in<\/span>
\nAs they were drinking all.<\/span><\/p>\n

She doth not tack. from side to side\u2014<\/span>
\nHither to work us weal<\/span>
\nWithouten wind, <\/span>withouten tide<\/span><\/span>
\nShe steddies with upright keel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The western wave was all a flame,<\/span>
\nThe day was well nigh done!<\/span>
\nAlmost upon the western wave<\/span>
\nRested the broad bright Sun;<\/span>
\nWhen that strange shape drove suddenly<\/span>
\nBetwixt us and the Sun.<\/span><\/p>\n

And strait the Sun was <\/span>fleck’d with bars<\/span><\/span>
\n(Heaven’s mother send us grace)<\/span>
\nAs if thro’ a dungeon grate he <\/span>peer’d<\/span>
\nWith broad and burning face.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alas! (<\/span>thought I, and my heart beat loud)<\/span><\/span>
\nHow fast she neres and neres!<\/span>
\nAre those\u00a0her<\/i>\u00a0Sails that glance in the Sun<\/span>
\nLike restless gossameres?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Are those\u00a0her<\/i>\u00a0naked ribs, which <\/span>fleck’d<\/span>
\nThe sun that did behind them peer?<\/span>
\nAnd are those two all, all the crew,<\/span>
\nThat woman and her fleshless Pheere?<\/span><\/p>\n

His<\/i>\u00a0bones were black with many a crack,<\/span>
\nAll black and bare, I ween;<\/span>
\nJet-black and bare, save where with rust<\/span>
\nOf mouldy damps and charnel crust<\/span>
\nThey’re patch’d with purple and green,<\/span><\/p>\n

Her<\/i>\u00a0lips are red,\u00a0her<\/i>\u00a0looks are free,<\/span>
\nHer<\/i>\u00a0locks are yellow as gold:<\/span>
\nHer skin is as white as leprosy,<\/span>
\nAnd she is far liker Death than he;<\/span>
\nHer flesh makes the still air cold.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The naked Hulk alongside came<\/span>
\nAnd the Twain were playing dice;<\/span>
\n“The Game is done! I’ve won, I’ve won!”<\/span>
\nQuoth she, and whistled thrice.<\/span><\/p>\n

A gust of wind <\/span>sterte up behind<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd whistled thro’ his bones;<\/span>
\nThro’ the holes of his eyes and the hole of his mouth<\/span>
\nHalf-whistles and half-groans.<\/span><\/p>\n

With never a whisper in the Sea<\/span>
\nOff darts the Spectre-s<\/span>hip;<\/span>
\nWhile <\/span>clombe above the Eastern bar<\/span><\/span>
\nThe horned Moon, with one bright Star<\/span>
\nAlmost atween the tips.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

One after one by the horned Moon<\/span>
\n(Listen, O Stranger! to me)<\/span>
\nEach <\/span>turn’d his face with a ghastly pang<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd curs’d me with his ee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pour times fifty living men,<\/span>
\nWith never a sigh or groan.<\/span>
\nWith heavy thump, a lifeless lump<\/span>
\nThey dropp’d down one by one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their <\/span>fouls did from their bodies fly,\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nThey fled to bliss or woe;<\/span>
\nAnd every soul it <\/span>pass’d me by,<\/span><\/span>
\nLike the whiz of my Cross-bow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

IV.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

“I fear thee, <\/span>ancyent Marinere!<\/span><\/span>
\n“I fear thy skinny hand;<\/span>
\n“And thou art long and lank and brown<\/span>
\n“As is the ribb’d Sea-sand.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I fear thee and thy glittering eye<\/span>
\n“And thy skinny hand so brown\u2014<\/span>
\nFear not, fear not, thou wedding guest!<\/span>
\nThis body dropt not down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alone, alone, <\/span>all all alone<\/span><\/span>
\nAlone on the wide wide Sea;<\/span>
\nAnd Christ would take no pity on<\/span>
\nMy soul in agony.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The many men so beautiful,<\/span>
\nAnd they all dead did lie!<\/span>
\nAnd a <\/span>million million\u00a0s<\/span>limy things<\/span><\/span>
\nLiv’d on\u2014and so did I.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>look’d upon the rotting Sea,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd drew my eyes away;<\/span>
\nI <\/span>look’d upon the eldritch deck,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd there the dead men lay.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>look’d to Heaven, and <\/span>try’d to pray;<\/span><\/span>
\nBut or ever a prayer had gusht,<\/span>
\nA wicked whisper came and made<\/span>
\nMy heart as dry as dust.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>clos’d my lids and kept them close,<\/span><\/span>
\nTill the balls like pulses beat;<\/span>
\nFor the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky<\/span>
\nLay like a load on my weary eye,<\/span>
\nAnd the dead were at my feet.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The cold sweat melted from their limbs,<\/span>
\nNe rot, ne reek did they;<\/span>
\nThe look with which they <\/span>look’d on me,<\/span><\/span>
\nHad never pass’d away.<\/span><\/p>\n

An orphan’s curse would drag to Hell<\/span>
\nA spirit from on high:<\/span>
\nBut O! more horrible than that<\/span>
\nIs the curse in a dead man’s eye!<\/span>
\nSeven days, seven nights I saw that curse,<\/span>
\nAnd yet I could not die.<\/span><\/p>\n

The moving Moon went up the sky<\/span>
\nAnd no where did abide:<\/span>
\nSoftly she was going up<\/span>
\nAnd a star or two bes<\/span>ide\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Her beams <\/span>bemock’d the sultry main<\/span><\/span>
\nLike morning frosts yspread;<\/span>
\nBut where the ship’s huge shadow lay,<\/span>
\nThe charmed water burnt alway<\/span>
\nA still and awful red.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the shadow of the ship<\/span>
\nI watch’d the water-snakes:<\/span>
\nThey <\/span>mov’d in tracks of shining white;<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd when they <\/span>rear’d, the elfish light<\/span><\/span>
\nFell off in hoary flakes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within the shadow of the ship<\/span>
\nI watch’d their rich attire:<\/span>
\nBlue, glossy green, and velvet black<\/span>
\nThey <\/span>coil’d and swam; and every track<\/span><\/span>
\nWas a flash of golden fire.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

O happy living things! no tongue<\/span>
\nTheir beauty might declare:<\/span>
\nA spring of love <\/span>gusht from my heart,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd I bless’d them unaware!<\/span>
\nSure my kind saint took pity on me,<\/span>
\nAnd I bless’d them unaware.<\/span><\/p>\n

The self-same moment I could pray;<\/span>
\nAnd from my neck so free<\/span>
\nThe Albatross fell <\/span>off, and sank<\/span><\/span>
\nLike lead into the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

V.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

O sleep, it is a gentle thing<\/span>
\nBelov’d from pole to pole!<\/span>
\nTo Mary-queen the praise be <\/span>yeven<\/span>
\nShe sent the gentle sleep from heaven<\/span>
\nThat slid into my soul.<\/span><\/p>\n

The silly buckets on the deck<\/span>
\nThat had so long remain’d,<\/span>
\nI dreamt that they were <\/span>fill’d with dew<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd when I awoke it rain’d.<\/span><\/p>\n

My lips were wet, my throat was cold,<\/span>
\nMy garments all were dank;<\/span>
\nSure I had drunken in my dreams<\/span>
\nAnd still my body drank.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I <\/span>mov’d and could not feel my limbs,<\/span><\/span>
\nI was so light, almost<\/span>
\nI thought that I had died in sleep,<\/span>
\nAnd was a blessed Ghost.<\/span><\/p>\n

The roaring wind! it <\/span>roar’d far off,<\/span><\/span>
\nIt did not come anear;<\/span>
\nBut with its <\/span>sound it shook the sails<\/span><\/span>
\nThat were so thin and sere.<\/span><\/p>\n

The upper air bursts into life,<\/span>
\nAnd a hundred fire-flags sheen<\/span>
\nTo and fro they are hurried about;<\/span>
\nAnd to and fro, and in and out<\/span>
\nThe stars dance on between.<\/span><\/p>\n

The coming wind doth roar <\/span>more loud;<\/span><\/span>
\nThe sails do sigh, like sedge:<\/span>
\nThe rain pours down from one black cloud<\/span>
\nAnd the Moon is at its edge.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hark! hark! the thick black cloud is cleft,<\/span>
\nAnd the Moon is at its side:<\/span>
\nLike waters shot from some high crag,<\/span>
\nThe lightning falls with never a jag<\/span>
\nA river steep and wide.<\/span><\/p>\n

The strong wind <\/span>reach’d the ship: it <\/span>roar’d<\/span>
\nAnd dropp’d down, like a stone!<\/span>
\nBeneath the lightning and the moon<\/span>
\nThe dead men gave a groan.<\/span><\/p>\n

They <\/span>groan’d, they <\/span>stirr’d, they all uprose,<\/span><\/span>
\nNe spake, ne mov’d their eyes:<\/span>
\nIt had been strange, even in a dream<\/span>
\nTo have seen those dead men rise.<\/span><\/p>\n

The helmsman <\/span>steerd, the ship <\/span>mov’d on;<\/span><\/span>
\nYet never a breeze up-blew;<\/span>
\nThe <\/span>Marineres all ‘gan work the ropes,<\/span><\/span>
\nWhere they were wont to do:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

They <\/span>rais’d their limbs like lifeless tools\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nWe were a ghastly crew.<\/span><\/p>\n

The body of my brother’s son<\/span>
\nStood by me knee to knee:<\/span>
\nThe body and I <\/span>pull’d at one rope,<\/span><\/span>
\nBut he said nought to me\u2014<\/span>
\nAnd I <\/span>quak’d to think of my own voice<\/span><\/span>
\nHow frightful it would be!<\/span><\/p>\n

The day-light dawned\u2014they <\/span>dropp’d their arms.<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd cluster’d round the mast:<\/span>
\nSweet sounds rose slowly thro’ their mouths<\/span>
\nAnd from their bodies pass’d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around, around, flew each sweet sound,<\/span>
\nThen darted to the sun:<\/span>
\nSlowly the sounds came back again<\/span>
\nNow mix’d, now one by one.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sometimes a dropping from the sky<\/span>
\nI heard the Lavrock sing;<\/span>
\nSometimes all little birds that are<\/span>
\nHow they <\/span>seem’d to fill the sea and air<\/span><\/span>
\nWith their sweet jargoning,<\/span><\/p>\n

And now ‘<\/span>twas like all instruments,<\/span><\/span>
\nNow like, a lonely flute;<\/span>
\nAnd now it is an angel’s song<\/span>
\nThat makes the heavens be mute.<\/span><\/p>\n

It <\/span>ceas’d: yet still the sails made on<\/span><\/span>
\nA pleasant noise till noon,<\/span>
\nA noise like of a hidden brook<\/span>
\nIn the leafy month of June,<\/span>
\nThat to the\u00a0s<\/span>leeping woods all night<\/span>
\nSingeth a quiet tune.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Listen, O listen, thou Wedding-guest!<\/span>
\n“Marinere! thou hast thy will:<\/span>
\n“For that, which comes out of thine eye, doth make<\/span>
\n“My body and soul to be still.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Never sadder tale was told<\/span><\/span>
\nTo a man of woman born:<\/span>
\nSadder and wiser thou wedding-guest!<\/span>
\nThou’lt rise to morrow morn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Never sadder tale was heard<\/span><\/span>
\nBy a man of woman born:<\/span>
\nThe <\/span>Marineres all <\/span>return’d to work<\/span><\/span>
\nAs silent as beforne.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Marineres all ‘<\/span>gan pull the ropes,<\/span><\/span>
\nBut look at me they n’old:<\/span>
\nThought I, I am as thin as air\u2014<\/span>
\nThey cannot me behold.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Till noon we silently <\/span>sail’d on<\/span><\/span>
\nYet never a breeze did breathe:<\/span>
\nSlowly and smoothly went the ship<\/span>
\nMov’d onward from beneath.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the keel nine fathom deep<\/span>
\nFrom the land of mist and snow<\/span>
\nThe spirit slid: and it was He<\/span>
\nThat made the Ship to go.<\/span>
\nThe sails at noon left off their tune<\/span>
\nAnd the Ship stood still also.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sun right up above the mast<\/span>
\nHad fix’d her to the ocean:<\/span>
\nBut in a minute she ‘gan stir<\/span>
\nWith a short uneasy motion\u2014<\/span>
\nBackwards and forwards half her length<\/span>
\nWith a short uneasy motion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Then, like a pawing horse let go,<\/span>
\nShe made a sudden bound:<\/span>
\nIt flung the blood into my head,<\/span>
\nAnd I fell into a swound.<\/span><\/p>\n

How long in that same fit I lay,<\/span>
\nI have not to declare;<\/span>
\nBut ere my living life <\/span>return’d,<\/span><\/span>
\nI heard and in my soul <\/span>discern’d<\/span>
\nTwo voices in the air,<\/span><\/p>\n

“Is it he? quoth one, “Is this the man?<\/span>
\n“By him who died on cross,<\/span>
\n“With his cruel bow he <\/span>lay’d full low<\/span><\/span>
\n“The harmless Albatross.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The spirit who ‘<\/span>bideth by himself<\/span><\/span>
\n“In the land of mist and snow,<\/span>
\n“He <\/span>lov’d the bird that <\/span>lov’d the man<\/span><\/span>
\n“Who shot him with his bow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The other was a softer voice,<\/span>
\nAs soft as honey-dew:<\/span>
\nQuoth he the man hath penance <\/span>done,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd penance more will do,<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

VI.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n

First Voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“But tell me, tell me! speak again,<\/span>
\n“Thy soft response renewing\u2014<\/span>
\n“What makes that ship drive on so fast?<\/span>
\n“What is the Ocean doing?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Second Voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“Still as a Slave before his Lord,<\/span>
\n“The Ocean hath no blas<\/span>t:<\/span>
\n“His great bright eye most silently<\/span>
\n“Up to the moon is cast\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“If he may know which way to go,<\/span>
\n“For\u00a0s<\/span>he guides him smooth or grim.<\/span>
\n“See, brother, see! how graciously<\/span>
\n“She looketh down on him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

First Voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“But why drives on that ship so fast<\/span>
\n“Withouten wave or wind?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Second Voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“The air is cut away before,<\/span>
\n“And closes from behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Fly, <\/span>brother, fly! more high, more high,<\/span><\/span>
\n“Or we\u00a0s<\/span>hall be belated:<\/span>
\n“For slow and slow that ship will go,<\/span>
\n“When the Marinere’s trance is abated.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I woke, and we were sailing on<\/span>
\nAs in a gentle weather:<\/span>
\n‘Twas night, calm night, the moon was high;<\/span>
\nThe dead men stood together.<\/span><\/p>\n

All stood together on the deck,<\/span>
\nFor a charnel-dungeon fitter:<\/span>
\nAll <\/span>fix’d on me their stony eyes<\/span><\/span>
\nThat in the moon did glitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pang, the curse, with which they died,<\/span>
\nHad never pass’d away:<\/span>
\nI could not draw my <\/span>een from theirs<\/span><\/span>
\nNe turn them up to pray.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in its time the spell was <\/span>snapt,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd I could move my een:<\/span>
\nI <\/span>look’d far-forth, but little saw<\/span><\/span>
\nOf what might else be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Like one, that on a lonely road<\/span>
\nDoth walk in fear and dread,<\/span>
\nAnd having once <\/span>turn’d round, walks on<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd turns no more his head:<\/span>
\nBecause he knows, a frightful fiend<\/span>
\nDoth close behind him tread.<\/span><\/p>\n

But soon there <\/span>breath’d a wind on me,<\/span><\/span>
\nNe sound ne motion made:<\/span>
\nIts path was not upon the sea<\/span>
\nIn ripple or in shade.<\/span><\/p>\n

It <\/span>rais’d my hair, it <\/span>fann’d my cheek.<\/span><\/span>
\nLike a meadow-gale of spring\u2014<\/span>
\nIt mingled\u00a0s<\/span>trangely with my fears,<\/span>
\nYet it felt like a welcoming.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship,<\/span>
\nYet she sail’d softly too:<\/span>
\nSweetly, sweetly blew the breeze\u2014<\/span>
\nOn me alone it blew.<\/span><\/p>\n

O dream of joy! is this indeed<\/span>
\nThe light-house top I see?<\/span>
\nIs this the Hill? Is this the Kirk?<\/span>
\nIs this mine own countr\u00e9e?<\/span><\/p>\n

We drifted o’er the Harbour-bar,<\/span>
\nAnd I with sobs did pray\u2014<\/span>
\n“O let me be awake, my God!<\/span>
\n“Or let me\u00a0s<\/span>leep alway!”<\/span><\/p>\n

The harbour-bay was clear as glass,<\/span>
\nSo smoothly it was strewn!<\/span>
\nAnd on the <\/span>bay the <\/span>moon light lay,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd the shadow of the moon.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The moonlight bay was white all o’er,<\/span>
\nTill rising from the same,<\/span>
\nFull many shapes, <\/span>that shadows were,<\/span><\/span>
\nLike as of torches came.<\/span><\/p>\n

A little distance from the prow<\/span>
\nThose dark-red shadows were;<\/span>
\nBut soon I saw that my own flesh<\/span>
\nWas red as in a glare.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>turn’d my head in fear and dread,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd by the holy rood,<\/span>
\nThe bodies had <\/span>advanc’d, and now<\/span><\/span>
\nBefore the mas<\/span>t they\u00a0s<\/span>tood.<\/span><\/p>\n

They lifted <\/span>op their\u00a0s<\/span>tiff right arms,<\/span><\/span>
\nThey held them\u00a0s<\/span>trait and tight;<\/span>
\nAnd each right-arm burnt like a torch,<\/span>
\nA torch that’s borne upright.<\/span>
\nTheir stony eye-balls <\/span>glitter’d on<\/span><\/span>
\nIn the red and smoky light.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I <\/span>pray’d and <\/span>turn’d my head away<\/span><\/span>
\nForth looking as before.<\/span>
\nThere was no breeze upon the bay,<\/span>
\nNo wave against the shore.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rock\u00a0s<\/span>hone bright, the kirk no less<\/span>
\nThat stands above the rock:<\/span>
\nThe moonlight <\/span>steep’d in <\/span>silentness<\/span>
\nThe steady weathercock.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the bay was white with silent light,<\/span>
\nTill rising from the same<\/span>
\nFull many shapes, <\/span>that shadows were,<\/span><\/span>
\nIn crimson colours came.<\/span><\/p>\n

A little distance from the prow<\/span>
\nThose crimson shadows were:<\/span>
\nI <\/span>turn’d my eyes upon the deck\u2014<\/span><\/span>
\nO Chris<\/span>t! what saw I there?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Each corse lay flat, lifeles<\/span>s and flat;<\/span>
\nAnd by the Holy rood<\/span>
\nA man all light, a seraph-man,<\/span>
\nOn every corse there stood.<\/span><\/p>\n

This seraph-band, each <\/span>wav’d his hand:<\/span><\/span>
\nIt was a heavenly sight:<\/span>
\nThey stood as signals to the land,<\/span>
\nEach one a lovely light:<\/span><\/p>\n

This seraph-band, each <\/span>wav’d his hand,<\/span><\/span>
\nNo voice did they impart\u2014<\/span>
\nNo voice; but O! the silence sank,<\/span>
\nLike music on my heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eftsones I heard the dash of oars,<\/span>
\nI heard the pilot’s cheer:<\/span>
\nMy head was <\/span>turn’d perforce away<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd I saw a boat appear.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Then <\/span>vanish’d all the lovely lights;<\/span><\/span>
\nThe bodies rose anew:<\/span>
\nWith silent pace, each to his place,<\/span>
\nCame back the ghastly crew.<\/span>
\nThe wind, that shade nor motion made,<\/span>
\nOn me alone it blew.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pilot, and the pilot’s boy<\/span>
\nI heard them coming fast:<\/span>
\nDear Lord in Heaven! it was a joy,<\/span>
\nThe dead men could not blast.<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw a third\u2014I heard his voice:<\/span>
\nIt is the Hermit good!<\/span>
\nHe\u00a0s<\/span>ingeth loud his godly hymns<\/span>
\nThat he makes in the wood.<\/span>
\nHe’ll <\/span>shrieve my soul, he’ll wash away<\/span><\/span>
\nThe Albatross’s blood,<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

VII.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

This Hermit good lives in that wood<\/span>
\nWhich slopes down to the Sea.<\/span>
\nHow loudly his sweet voice he rears!<\/span>
\nHe loves to talk with <\/span>Marineres<\/span>
\nThat come from a far Contr\u00e9e.<\/span><\/p>\n

He kneels at morn and noon and eve\u2014<\/span>
\nHe hath a cushion plump:<\/span>
\nIt is the moss, that wholly hides<\/span>
\nThe rotted old Oak-stump.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Skiff-boat <\/span>ne’rd: I heard them talk,<\/span><\/span>
\n“Why, this is strange, I trow!<\/span>
\n“Where are those lights so many and fair<\/span>
\n“That signal made but now?<\/span><\/p>\n

“Strange, by my faith! the Hermit said\u2014<\/span>
\n“And they answer’d not our cheer.<\/span>
\n“The planks look <\/span>warp’d, and see those sails<\/span><\/span>
\n“How thin they are and sere!<\/span>
\n“I never saw aught like to them<\/span>
\n“Unless perchance it were<\/span><\/p>\n

“The skeletons of leaves that lag<\/span>
\n“My forest brook along:<\/span>
\n“When the Ivy-tod is heavy with snow,<\/span>
\n“And the Owlet whoops to the wolf below<\/span>
\n“That eats the she-wolf’s young.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Dear Lord! it has a fiendish look\u2014<\/span>
\n(The Pilot made reply)<\/span>
\n“I am a-fear’d.\u2014”Push on, push on!<\/span>
\n“Said the Hermit cheerily.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Boat came closer to the Ship,<\/span>
\nBut I ne spake ne stirr’d!<\/span>
\nThe Boat came close beneath the Ship,<\/span>
\nAnd strait a sound was heard!<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the <\/span>water it rumbled on,<\/span><\/span>
\nStill louder and more dread:<\/span>
\nIt <\/span>reach’d the Ship, it split the bay;<\/span><\/span>
\nThe Ship went down like lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stunn’d by that loud and dreadful sound,<\/span>
\nWhich sky and ocean smote:<\/span>
\nLike one that hath been seven days <\/span>drown’d<\/span>
\nMy body lay afloat:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But, swift as dreams, myself I found<\/span>
\nWithin the Pilot’s boat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon the whirl, where sank the Ship,<\/span>
\nThe boat spun round and round:<\/span>
\nAnd all was still, save that the hill<\/span>
\nWas telling of the sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>mov’d my lips: the Pilot <\/span>shriek’d<\/span>
\nAnd fell down in a fit.<\/span>
\nThe Holy Hermit <\/span>rais’d his eyes<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd pray’d where he did sit.<\/span><\/p>\n

I took the oars: the Pilot’s boy,<\/span>
\nWho now doth crazy go,<\/span>
\nLaugh’d loud and long, and all the while<\/span>
\nHis eyes went to and fro,<\/span>
\n“Ha! ha!” quoth he\u2014”full plain I see,<\/span>
\n“The devil knows how to row.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And now all in <\/span>mine own Countr\u00e9e<\/span><\/span>
\nI stood on the firm land!<\/span>
\nThe Hermit <\/span>stepp’d forth from the boat,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd scarcely he could stand.<\/span><\/p>\n

“O <\/span>shrieve me, <\/span>shrieve me, holy Man!<\/span><\/span>
\nThe Hermit cross’d his brow\u2014<\/span>
\n“Say quick,” quoth he, “I bid thee say<\/span>
\n“What manner man art thou?<\/span><\/p>\n

Forthwith this frame of mine was <\/span>wrench’d<\/span>
\nWith a woeful agony,<\/span>
\nWhich <\/span>forc’d me <\/span>to begin my tale<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd then it left me free.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then at an uncertain hour,<\/span>
\nNow oftimes and now fewer,<\/span>
\nThat anguish comes and makes me tell<\/span>
\nMy ghastly aventure.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I pass, like night, from land to land;<\/span>
\nI have strange power of speech;<\/span>
\nThe moment that his face I see<\/span>
\nI know the man that must hear me;<\/span>
\nTo him my tale I teach.<\/span><\/p>\n

What loud uproar bursts from that door!<\/span>
\nThe Wedding-guests are there;<\/span>
\nBut in the Garden-bower the Bride<\/span>
\nAnd Bride-maids singing are:<\/span>
\nAnd hark the little Vesper-bell<\/span>
\nWhich biddeth me to prayer.<\/span><\/p>\n

O Wedding-guest! this soul hath been<\/span>
\nAlone on a wide wide sea:<\/span>
\nSo lonely ‘<\/span>twas, that God himself<\/span><\/span>
\nScarce seemed there to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

O sweeter than the Marriage-feast,<\/span>
\n‘Tis sweeter far to me<\/span>
\nTo walk together to the Kirk<\/span>
\nWith a goodly company.<\/span><\/p>\n

To walk together to the Kirk<\/span>
\nAnd all together pray,<\/span>
\nWhile each to his great <\/span>father bends,<\/span><\/span>
\nOld men, and babes, and loving friends,<\/span>
\nAnd Youths, and Maidens gay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell<\/span>
\nTo thee, thou wedding-guest!<\/span>
\nHe prayeth well who loveth well,<\/span>
\nBoth man and bird and beast.<\/span><\/p>\n

He prayeth best who loveth best,<\/span>
\nAll things both great and small:<\/span>
\nFor the dear God, who loveth us,<\/span>
\nHe made and loveth all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The <\/span>Marinere, whose eye is bright,<\/span><\/span>
\nWhose beard with age is hoar,<\/span>
\nIs gone<\/span>; and now the wedding-guest<\/span><\/span>
\nTurn’d from the bridegroom’s door.<\/span><\/p>\n

He went, like one that hath been <\/span>stunn’d<\/span>
\nAnd is of sense forlorn:<\/span>
\nA sadder and a wiser man<\/span>
\nHe rose the morrow morn.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere by Samuel Taylor Coleridge It is an ancyent Marinere, And he stoppeth one of three: “By thy long grey beard and thy glittering eye “Now wherefore stoppest me? “The Bridegroom’s doors are open’d wide “And I am next of kin; “The Guests are met, the Feast is\u00a0set,\u2014 “May’st hear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":190,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-270","page","type-page","status-publish","czr-hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/270\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/eng2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}