The aim of today's session was to continue to navigate students through the psychedelic splendour of S.T. Coleridge's THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. We discussed the first section of TROTAM before reading the second section of the poem and considering the question:
HOW DOES COLERIDGE TELL THE STORY IN THE FIRST SECTION OF THE POEM?
Students were encouraged to consider how Coleridge uses language, structure and form to shape meaning.
HOMEWORK: I will not be seeing you for a week due to the mock exam cruelty but as we do not have a LIT mock, i expect students to attempt the essay discussed in today's session. I will provide some extended notes on this blog post tomorrow that will assist students with the construction of this response...and here they are:
HOW DOES COLERIDGE TELL THE STORY IN THE FIRST SECTION OF THE POEM?
- The first paragraph could deal with LANGUAGE. The first section is rich with aural imagery created by onomatopoeia. This language helps Coleridge represent the natural world as intimidating and sentient. Onomatopoeia and simile are used to describe the ice. The ice is represented as being beautiful, powerful, vast and fierce. The ice presents a danger to mankind and the crew seem vulnerable when placed in this 'wondrous' landscape. Remember, the use of language needs to be linked to author's aim. Why is Coleridge representing the natural world in this manner? Students could also explore how language is used to represent the supernatural nature of the Mariner BUT there should be enough material for the language paragraph if students concentrate on Coleridge's representation of nature. Reference must be made to onomatopoeia and simile.
- The second paragraph needs to deal with STRUCTURE. This could be a tricky paragraph so it is important that students offer a coherent and precise narrative argument. Students could focus upon the character of The Wedding Guest and how Coleridge introduces The Wedding Guest to amplify the supernatural nature of the Mariner at the very beginning of the poem and allows Coleridge to introduce the idea that the Mariner is a mysterious and magical figure. The Wedding Guest appears in the final stanza and is used to amplify the animated reaction of the Mariner when expressing the fact that he killed the Albatross. This allows Coleridge to emphasise the narrative importance of this act. Obviously the whole of the Mariner's punishment is related to this moment so it is a key point in the narrative. So Coleridge places the Wedding Guest at the beginning of the poem to create a sense of mystery and emphasise the supernatural nature of the Mariner and TWG's narrative voice is used in the final stanza to suggest the dramatic significance of the killing of the Albatross as the Mariner appears to be traumatised by the memory of this incident.
- The third paragraph needs to deal with how form is used to shape meaning. Form in this poem relates to the use of the ballad form. READ THE HANDOUT I gave to the class. The ballad is a very regular poetic form but Coleridge shapes the ballad into an irregular form at various points throughout the poem. The first use of the irregular ballad form occurs in the stanza that begins with line 45. Students need to articulate how this irregular use of ballad form relates to meaning. Think about it! Refer to the notes we made in class. At various points throughout the poem the irregular form reflects the irregular nature of the narrative content. For example the first stanza of section three, a section of the poem that introduces the characters of Death and Life-In-Death and is a ghostly section of the tale, introduces the idea that the world being presented in this section is a bizarre and supernatural world. Similarly, section four is full of irregular form as this is a section of the poem that is vivid with ghostly and grotesque imagery. Students might like to refer briefly to another section of the poem beyond the first section to reinforce the argument used to explain the significance of the irregular ballad form used in the 12th stanza of the opening section. All this needs to be linked to author's aim.
- The conclusion needs to be brief and explain why the first section is so important within the whole poem.
FURTHERMORE...students need to read Jerusalem. I would advise ALL students to digest the BBC documentary series THE ROMANTICS and visit the JERUSALEM resources posted on this blog. I would also listen to my MARINER podcast....Phew..see you soon. Good luck with the exams.
BBC DOCUMENTARY LINK:
JERUSALEM RESOURCE PAGE:
PODCAST:
A READING OF TROTAM:
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