Copy and complete the following, to identify the ancient mariner’s character:

feature

details

extract from the poem to illustrate these details

what this tells us about the ancient mariner’s character

His appearance and distinguishing features

What he did

He stopped a wedding guest, to tell him his story.

He was tormented by what happened and felt he had to tell someone about it.

How he expressed his feelings

The very deep did rot

O Christ!

That ever this should be!

Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs

Upon the slimy sea.

Choose at least one detail for each feature.

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Solution

feature

details

extract from the poem to illustrate these details

what this tells us about the ancient mariner’s character

His appearance and distinguishing features

Long beard, glittering eye and skinny hand

`By thy long beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me ?

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 was an old man who had become weary and weak with his wanderings

What he did

He stopped a wedding guest, to tell him his story.

It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.

He was tormented by what happened and felt he had to tell someone about it.

How he expressed his feelings

He expressed his feelings with conviction, using powerful images

The very deep did rot O Christ!

That ever this should be!

Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs

Upon the slimy sea.

He was good at narrating a story.

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Similar questions

Answer the following by choosing the right option from those given below:

(a) The Ancient Mariner stopped one of the three wedding guests because…………

(b) The wedding guest remarked that he was 'next of kin' which means that ……..

he was a close relation of the bridegroom
he was a close relation of the bride
he was next in line to get married
he had to stand next to the bridegroom during the wedding

the mariner was forced to hear the story of the wedding guest
the wedding guest was forced to hear the story of the mariner
the mariner had the choice of not listening to the story of the wedding guest
the wedding guest had the choice of not listening to the story of the mariner

(d) 'The sun came up upon the left, /Out of the sea came he;'This line tells us that the ship………………….

was moving in the northern direction
was moving eastwards
was moving in the western direction
was moving towards the south

(e) The Wedding-Guest beat his breast because…………

he could hear the sound of the bassoon
he was forced to listen to the Mariner's tale when he wanted to attend the wedding
the sound of the bassoon meant that the bride had arrived and the wedding ceremony was about to begin and he could not attend it.
the sound of the bassoon announced the arrival of the bride and the start of the wedding ceremony

(f) The storm blast has been described as being tyrannous because……….

it was so fierce that it frightened the sailors
it took complete control of the ship
the storm was very powerful
the sailors were at its mercy

(g) The sailors felt depressed on reaching the land of mist and snow because……

there was no sign of any living creature
they felt they would die in that cold weather
they were surrounded by icebergs and there seemed to be no sign of life
everything was grey in colour and they felt very cold

(h) The sailors were happy to see the albatross because……..

it was the first sign of life and therefore gave them hope that they might survive
it split the icebergs around the ship and helped the ship move forward.
it was a messenger from God and it lifted the fog and mist.
it gave them hope of survival by splitting the icebergs.

(i) The two things that happened after the arrival of the albatross were ……

the icebergs split and the albatross became friendly with the sailors
the icebergs split and a strong breeze started blowing
the ship was pushed out of the land of mist and the ice melted.
the albatross started playing with the mariners and ate the food they offered.

(j) 'It perched for vespers nine' means………

the ship stopped sailing at nine o'clock every day
the albatross would appear at a fixed time everyday.
the albatross would sit on the sail or the mast everyday
the albatross was a holy creature

(k) 'God save thee, ancient Mariner, /From the fiends that plague thee thus!- Why look'st thou so?' means……….

the mariner wanted to know why the wedding guest was looking so tormented
the wedding guest wanted to know why the mariner was looking so tormented
the wedding guest wanted to know whether some creatures were troubling the ancient mariner
the ancient mariner wanted to know whether something was troubling the wedding guest

How did the other mariners behave towards the Ancient Mariner at first? How many times did they change their mind about the Ancient Mariner? What does this tell us about their character?

The Ancient Mariner stopped one of the three wedding guests because…………

i. he wanted to attend the wedding with him

ii. he wanted him to sit with him

iii. he wanted him to listen to his story

iv. he wanted to stop him from going to the wedding

Answer the following questions briefly

(a) How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?

(b) Was the wedding guest happy to be stopped? Give reasons for your answer.

(d) How does the mariner describe the movement of the ship as it sails away from the land?

(e) What kind of weather did the sailors enjoy at the beginning of their journey? How has it been expressed in the poem?

(f) How did the sailors reach the land of mist and snow?

(g) How does the mariner express the fact that the ship was completely surrounded by icebergs?

(h) How do we know that the albatross was not afraid of the humans? Why did the sailors hail it in God’s name?

(i)What was the terrible deed done by the Mariner? Why do you think he did it?

Choose extracts from the story that illustrate the characters of the four main people in the story, and say what those extracts tell you about them. (Copy and complete the following.)

Person	Extracts from the story	What this tells us about their characters
Babuli	(paragraph 2) I have thought of home not even once. (35)	He had neglected his family, and was preoccupied with the job and his new life in the city.
Babuli’s wife	(9)	-
Elder brother	(4) (30)	-
Second brother	(6)	-

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feature	details	extract from the poem to illustrate these details	what this tells us about the ancient mariner’s character
His appearance and distinguishing features
What he did	He stopped a wedding guest, to tell him his story.		He was tormented by what happened and felt he had to tell someone about it.
How he expressed his feelings		The very deep did rot O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs Upon the slimy sea.

feature	details	extract from the poem to illustrate these details	what this tells us about the ancient mariner’s character
His appearance and distinguishing features	Long beard, glittering eye and skinny hand	`By thy long beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me ? 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 was an old man who had become weary and weak with his wanderings
What he did	He stopped a wedding guest, to tell him his story.	It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.	He was tormented by what happened and felt he had to tell someone about it.
How he expressed his feelings	He expressed his feelings with conviction, using powerful images	The very deep did rot O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs Upon the slimy sea.	He was good at narrating a story.