How is the story told in part 3 of the Ancient Mariner

by revisionnut (student)

How is the story told in Part 3 of the Ancient Mariner?

The action at in the opening of part 3 is very slow. ‘There passed a weary time.’ The crew are tired of being stranded in an unknown part of the sea. They are both physically and emotionally exhausted and the description of ‘glazed eye’ is a direct contrast to the earlier description of the ‘glittering eye’. They are truly suffering ‘parched’ from thirst stranded without supplies. The first stanza addresses the characters and the hardship that they are going through. These are very good language devices as the adjectives are used to describe the Mariners monotonous and tedious existence. The repetition of ‘A weary time!’ is used to emphasis the continuously dreary routine. Each time weary is mentioned it is with more desperation as the Mariners situation slowly worsens. The use of exclamation marks further helps to emphasise the anxiety that is felt by the Mariner and the crew.

There is also a change in form in the first stanza, which Coleridge uses to indicate a change in plot and to emphasise any climatic moments. The change happens when the mariner spies ‘a something in the sky.’ This statement of uncertainty of what is approaching them helps the story to move on, as it creates an interesting development in the story and it leads on to the next stanzas in which there is a lot of movement which are a direct contrast to the first stanza.

In the second stanza Coleridge reverts from the characters and describes the ...

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In the second stanza Coleridge reverts from the characters and describes the distant setting. The next two stanzas are more upbeat than the previous one. This is because of the use of progressive listing, ‘it seemed at first a little speck…and then it seemed a mist…’ As the object moves closer, anticipation grows and the object becomes clearer. Although he is unsure of what it is due to its unknown form, vagueness and constant movement (hint of the supernatural), he feels hopeful that it is his salvation ‘A certain shape, I wist.’ The repetition of ‘speck’, ‘mist’ and ‘wist’ help to illustrate the growing excitement at the prospect of being rescued by the approaching ship. The boat is also moving erratically ‘…plunged and tacked and veered.’

The form changes once again in the 4th stanza to once again emphasise the change in atmosphere and character. As the ship moved closer, the sailors realized it was a ship, but no one could cry out because their throats were dry and their lips badly sunburned. The Ancient Mariner bit his own arm and sipped the blood so that he could wet his mouth enough to cry out: "A sail! A sail!" The repetition of ‘With throats unslaked, with black lips baked…’ shows the unquenchable thirst of the Mariner and helps to explain his otherwise seemingly drastic action of drinking his own blood in order to cry out for the ship. With a unanimous cry they shout ‘Gramercy’ which means thank heavens, this shows that they truly believe the approaching ship is coming to rescue them, and despite the hints of its unnatural powers they are so desperate that they cannot see their true fate until it is too late.

How is the story told in part 3 of the Ancient Mariner

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