| The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere |
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| It is an ancyent Marinere, and he stoppeth one of three; By thy long grey beard and 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 set---may'st hear the merry din. But he holds him with his glittering eye---the wedding guest stood still And listened like a three year's child, the Marinere hath his will The wedding guest sate on a stone, he cannot chuse but hear; And thus spake on that ancyent man, the bright-eyed Marinere. |
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| I pass, like night, from land to land; I have strange power of speech; The moment that his face I see, I know the man that must hear me; To him my tale I teach. What loud uproar bursts from the door! The wedding guests are there; But in the garden bower, the bride and bridemaids sings are; and hark the little vesper bell Which biddeth me to prayer. O wedding guest! this soul hath been alone on a wide, wide sea; So lonely 'twas, that God himself scarce seemed there to be. |
| O sweeter than the marriage feast, 'tis sweeter far to me To walk together to the kirk with a goodly company. To walk together to the kirk and all together pray, While each to his great father bends, old men, and babes, and loving friends, And youths and maidens gay. |
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| Farewell, farewell! but this I tell to thee, thou wedding guest! He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast. He prayeth best who loveth best, all things both great and small; For the dear God, who loveth us, He made and loveth all. |
| The marinere, whose eye is bright, whose beard with age is hoar, Is gone; and now the wedding guest turn'd from the bridegroom's door. He went, like one that hath been stunn'd and is of sense forlorn; But, a sadder and a wiser man, he rose the morrow morn. |
| The mariner and the wedding guest. |
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| This epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge was first published in 1798. The excerpts below are from that version. It's the fictional tale of a mariner on an extraordinary voyage. Years later, the mariner stops a man who is on his way to a wedding ceremony and begins to relate his adventure. The wedding guest's reaction changes from bemusement to fascination as the ancient mariner's tale progresses. It seems his ship had been driven off course until they found themselves trapped in the icy waters of Antarctica. Just when hope of escape was almost gone, an albatross appeared and led the crew to safety. However, even as the crew was expressing gratitude for the appearance of the albatross, inexplicably, the mariner shoots it with a cross bow. In return, the sea spirits assault them with treacherous seas, a ghost ship with a spectral crew and, ultimately, destruction. The mariner survives, but as penance for his deed, he's forced to wander the earth for the rest of his life, re-telling the tale and teaching a lesson to those he meets: "...he prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast....he prayeth best who loveth best all things both great and small...for the dear God who loveth us, he made and loveth all." Due to its length, I can only share brief excerpts of it (the beginning and ending verses), but it can be found online in its entirety---as well as another epic poem I like, Evangeline by Longfellow. The links are at the bottom of the page. Some of the photos of the galleons on this page may remind you that Columbus Day is Monday, so, in a way, the old sailing ships are especially appropriate for this Friday's Journal! I was concerned that the Ancyent Marinere might not be everybody's cup of tea, so I made a special effort to include lots of interesting links---I found some good ones! So, avast, ye landlubbers, come on aboard! Nancy |
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