The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
This seven-part poem tells the story of a sailor who brings a curse on his ship after killing an albatross, a giant sea bird considered to be a good omen. Read the full text here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. wherefore
    the cause or intention underlying an action or situation
    By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
    Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
  2. tyrannous
    marked by unjust severity, cruelty, or arbitrary behavior
    And now the STORM-BLAST came, and he
    Was tyrannous and strong:
    He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
    And chased south along.
  3. albatross
    a large web-footed bird noted for powerful gliding flight
    At length did cross an Albatross,
    Thorough the fog it came;
    As if it had been a Christian soul,
    We hailed it in God's name.
  4. aver
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
    For all averred, I had killed the bird
    That made the breeze to blow.
  5. rout
    an overwhelming defeat
    About, about, in reel and rout
    The death-fires danced at night
  6. fathom
    a linear unit of measurement for water depth
    Nine fathom deep he had followed us
    From the land of mist and snow.
  7. agape
    with the mouth wide open as in wonder or awe
    With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
    Agape they heard me call:
    Gramercy!
  8. keel
    one of the main longitudinal beams of the hull of a vessel
    Without a breeze, without a tide,
    She steadies with upright keel!
  9. leprosy
    communicable disease characterized by wasting of body parts
    Her skin was as white as leprosy,
    The Night-Mare LIFE-IN-DEATH was she,
    Who thicks man's blood with cold.
  10. nether
    lower
    Till clombe above the eastern bar
    The horned Moon, with one bright star
    Within the nether tip.
  11. sultry
    characterized by oppressive heat and humidity
    Her beams bemocked the sultry main,
    Like April hoar-frost spread;
    But where the ship's huge shadow lay,
    The charmed water burnt alway
    A still and awful red.
  12. sere
    having lost all moisture
    And soon I heard a roaring wind:
    It did not come anear;
    But with its sound it shook the sails,
    That were so thin and sere.
  13. wan
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    And to and fro, and in and out,
    The wan stars danced between.
  14. sedge
    a grassy plant that grows in wet areas around the world
    And the coming wind did roar more loud,
    And the sails did sigh like sedge
  15. penance
    voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for something
    The other was a softer voice,
    As soft as honey-dew:
    Quoth he, "The man hath penance done,
    And penance more will do."
Created on Wed Feb 06 12:23:07 EST 2013 (updated Wed Aug 06 11:24:58 EDT 2025)

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