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Cover of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

  • Free to read
  • 15 min read
  • 7 chapters
  • Reading level: 5th grade

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a poem written in 1797–98. A weathered sailor stops a wedding guest to share his haunting tale of a sea voyage gone terribly wrong. After shooting an albatross, the mariner faces supernatural punishment and watches his crew perish. He must wander the earth forever, compelled to retell his story as penance. The poem explores guilt, redemption, and the consequences of violating nature through vivid narrative and supernatural imagery.

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  • Poetry

Read the opening

Part the First

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."

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 holds him with his glittering eye—
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years child:
The Mariner hath his will.

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Contents

  1. Part the First
  2. Part the Second
  3. Part the Third
  4. Part the Fourth
  5. Part the Fifth
  6. Second Voice
  7. Part the Seventh

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About this edition

This free edition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #151, released 2006-03-11. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Poetry, Classics of Literature, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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